Camping
by xBleedingBlackRosex
Summary: The Warblers set off for their annual camping trip, their newest member joining in rather reluctantly. He soon finds that certain fellow Warblers are very different when in this new natural setting...But danger for Klaine lurks at every tree trunk! Enjoy
1. Chapter 1: Spring Outing

**Hello, lovely readers! I'm going to try my best to keep Kurt in character, even though he's going to be placed in an extremely un-Kurt setting ;D Hope you enjoy!**

…

When Kurt entered the Warbler Hall on Thursday evening, he found Blaine on the couch, being pestered by a persistent Wes-and-David (they were together so often they were often referred to as one entity), who both looked equally eager about something, if their matching grins and incessant poking was any indication.

"Kurt! You're here!" Wes cried dramatically, coming over and drawing him into the group with a grand sweep of his arm. Kurt went willingly, although his eyebrow traveled northwards in confusion. Those two were always energetic, but for some reason they seemed excessively so today.

"What's going on?" he inquired of the three of them.

Blaine spoke up hurriedly. "It's nothing, Kurt, don't-"

"It's time for the annual Warbler camping trip!" David interrupted, smacking Blaine none too lightly over the head. At Kurt's blank expression, he rushed to explain before Blaine could retaliate. "Every year in spring, the Warblers go camping for a weekend in order to reconnect with nature and with each other."

Wes slid an arm around the shoulders of his brother-from-another-mother and said, "It's always one of the best Warbler events! There's no pressure from an audience, no stress from school...Just our voices, a couple guitars, and a campfire!"

"I see..." Kurt tried to look interested, but inside he was freaking out. He'd loathed camping from a very early age. Bathing in bacteria- and fish-infested water, having to go to the bathroom without flushable toilets, and above all, having to get his clothing dirty was something that simply did not appeal to him in any way, sense, or form. His father had learned early on not to try and force Kurt to join him when he went hiking or fishing, because his son would do nothing but complain the entire time of the bugs and lack of proper washrooms.

Blaine looked up at him apologetically. "I tried to get you out of it. But these two were adamant..."

"Well of course!" David defended heatedly. "Leaving out a Warbler would be like leaving behind a baby in a burning building! And Kurt's the newbie, so he's as good as the baby of the Warblers!"

"Oh Kurtie-pie! We'll never leave you!" Wes flung himself at the fashion diva, who promptly sidestepped him, used to their antics.

"I'll be fine," he assured Blaine, pointedly ignoring the other two and smiling what he hoped was an optimistic smile. "It'll be...memorable, I'm sure." Blaine laughed out loud at Kurt's attempt to accept his fate gracefully. Kurt glared at Wes and added, "And if you _ever_ call me that again, I swear I will not rest until you have-"

"Alright, alright, understood!" Wes promised nervously, holding up his hands in surrender, which was met with a chorus of laughter. He perched himself on the arm of the couch. "It's not like you're going to be forced to trek through the outback or anything, you know...It's actually a really nice spot! Right on the lakeshore, surrounded by forest..."

Kurt plopped himself down on the couch next to Blaine. "If there's no plumbing within a five minute walk, then I highly doubt that," Kurt couldn't help but snip. The other three chuckled good-naturedly, and Kurt wasn't all too sure they'd understood his seriousness. Nevertheless, before he could say anything more, the clock struck five, and it was time for practice to begin.

_What am I getting myself into?_ Kurt mused. _I hate camping! Thank goodness it's only for a weekend...If I had to spend any longer apart from modern technology or domestic development I would shrivel up and die! Actually, I'd rather just die. I've put _too much_ effort into my skin care to shrivel._

Blaine glanced at Kurt often during the following Warbler session as the group discussed the details for the camping trip, such as transportation, sleeping arrangements, and so on and so forth. He knew from the moment Wes and David had reminded him that morning of the upcoming adventure that Kurt would not be pleased. Still, he couldn't see any logical way of getting him out of it without making it blatantly obvious to the rest of the group that he was biased to the extreme. Besides, it was a 'bonding experience,' as David put it, and since Kurt was indeed the new student, it probably wouldn't be such a bad idea to let him get a little closer to his fellow glee members. And he wouldn't say no to some more bonding with Kurt himself, either...

But despite this internal reasoning, Blaine still despaired. Kurt had no idea just what he was getting himself into.

…

**Does it sound interesting? I know it was short...I just wanted to get the idea out there! Future chapters will definitely be longer. Reviews are always loved and treasured! Thanks for reading.**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	2. Chapter 2: Packing

**New chapter up so fast? Don't get used to it. ;) I'm usually pretty slow with updates...I just really wanted to get this next part up. Enjoy!**

…

Kurt had never been a very light packer.

He couldn't help it. His mind would always come up with new situations in which _that_ scarf would be mandatory, or an event which made _this_ sweater an absolute necessity.

Packing for camping, however, was an entirely different matter. When would there ever be a time in which he would need his Prada or his Alexander McQueen or his Gucci or his Dolce and Gabana? He'd gotten a packing list of sorts from Wes on Friday, but he was still rather lost. His closet, after all, was bursting with silks and cashmeres, clothing that most definitely did not seem appropriate for the nature setting. The few times he'd gone camping as a child, he distinctly remembered wearing polyester and wool.

_Gross._

Shuddering at the memory, Kurt sighed and decided it would be best to seek the assistance of the most outdoorsy man he knew: his father. He replaced his favorite pair of Doc Martens in his closet and strode out. With the trip coming up in only six days, he knew that he would have to start packing now if he wanted to be fully prepared for the hell he would have to endure.

…

"You're going _where_ with _who_?"

Kurt frowned as Burt's jaw practically hit the tabletop and flicked his scarf over his shoulder. "I just told you! The Warblers go on this camping trip every year, and since I'm a Warbler now, it's sort of mandatory that I'm in attendance..."

"Well, yeah, but..." His dad did not seem to understand. "Kurt, you _hate_ camping!"

A melodramatic sigh escaped the countertenor. "I was well aware, yes. Now, will you help me or not? I've only got a week to pack."

"I-, yeah, sure, I'd love to!" Kurt handed over the list to his father, who took it and glanced through it, nodding. Apparently, it made sense to him, which was a relief, because it seemed to be written in a foreign language the fashionista was unfamiliar with. "This seems basic enough...I'm not sure you have all of this, though..."

"My thoughts precisely!" Kurt nodded vigorously. "What am I going to do? There's no way I'm going to buy new things when I know I'm only going to wear them once or twice in my lifetime, but the majority of things in my closet simply _aren't_ meant for camping!"

Burt glanced at his son's shimmering turquoise scarf. "No, I think you're right...Well come on, let's see what we can pull together..."

…

By Thursday night, everything was set. There'd been some arguments over what Kurt could bring – Burt was adamant Kurt leave his hairspray behind, and Kurt declared he would die before he wore the same pair of jeans the entire weekend – but it was all worked out in the end. When the boy stared down at his bulging duffel bag, he felt something swell in his chest. It wasn't elation, per say, but neither was it abhorrence. Camping was not anything to look forward to; it was the possibility of sharing a tent with Blaine that made him eager to hit the road already.

A text message made his phone vibrate across his desktop.

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_You excited for tomorrow?_

Kurt found himself grinning that pathetically lovestruck grin he always got at the thought of the older boy. He quickly sank down in his swivel chair and tapped in his response, fingers flying over his phone's touchscreen from years of practice.

_From: Kurt Hummel_

_Oh, yeah, I'm totally bouncing off the walls right now with uncontrollable enthusiasm. Somebody should really restrain me._

A moment later, the response lit up his screen.

_From: Blaine Anderson_

_Ouch! Your sarcasm just pierced my heart and soul..._

Kurt burst out laughing. Burt, who could be heard thumping by on his way to his own room, paused and knocked on the door.

"Yes?"

He poked his baseball-capped head in. "You all ready for tomorrow?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Kurt nodded, gesturing towards his midnight blue duffel. "It's only for the weekend...What could go wrong?"

His father literally groaned. "Why'd you say that? Now I'm gonna worry all weekend about what could happen to you...!"

Kurt giggled, said his good night, and resumed his texting conversation with Blaine. Around ten-thirty, Blaine wished him sweet dreams as well. Although they'd often texted well into the night, they knew they'd need as much sleep as possible to compensate for the hours that would no doubt be stolen from them during the trip. With a contented sigh, Kurt slipped under his sheets, snuggling deep into his down pillow and wishing he could bring his bed along with. Exchanging his duvet for a sleeping bag was definitely not anything he'd do voluntarily.

_Tomorrow's the day..._he mused, half asleep already._ I hope I haven't forgotten anything...I checked the list a thousand times. I'm sure it'll be fine. It'll be fine, right? Just a few days, surrounded by nature's beauty...Maybe spending it with Blaine will make the whole experience better..._

…

The next day was oddly stressful. Kurt supposed it was just the contagious jitters coming from his fellow Warblers. There was a handful in each of Kurt's classes, so he was constantly reminded of the duffel bag waiting in the backseat of his car. Blaine seemed just as animated at the others, if not more so, and Kurt had no intention of bringing down his mood, so he swallowed his detestation of camping and put on a bright smile.

_It won't be as bad as I'm making it out to be,_ he tried to convince himself multiple times throughout the day. _The weather forecast is nothing but sun, and the spot is absolutely stunning according to Blaine, and everyone is so excited, and it's always good to get some fresh air..._

But telling himself all this over and over did not quite have the desired effect.

"Hey, Kurt!"

Ethan Johnson, a fellow Warbler, nudged him lightly with his elbow in third period. He was tall, lean, and blond, a shade of which Kurt was almost positive couldn't be natural, just like Sam's. He was flashing him a shiny, winning smile that only thousands of dollars could have created. "You don't seem all that pumped up about the camping trip..."

"Really? What was your first clue?"

Ethan laughed, and Kurt followed suit after a moment. He had a nice laugh.

"Well, I hope you end up having a good time, anyway," Ethan went on, lowing his voice to make sure their teacher didn't overhear them. "I know it may not really be your scene and all, but I promise I'll try and make it as enjoyable as possible for you..."

"Aw, how thoughtful!" Kurt pretended to swoon, which sent them both into another round of stifled giggles. "Seriously, though, thanks. I'm sure it's gonna be...something I'll never forget."

Ethan's smile widened.

But secretly, Kurt couldn't help but hope against hope that it was Blaine who ended up making the trip all that much more memorable for him..._Maybe_, he dared to wish, _just maybe, the change in scenery is all it takes for him to realize I'm totally head over heals for him...And then there's a one-in-a-million chance that he likes he back...But dear lord I want to take that chance!_

…

**How are you liking it so far? Input is always welcome! Any guesses as to what's gonna happen during the trip? ;D They'll set off in the next chapter, so STAY TUNED!**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	3. Chapter 3: The Bus Ride

**OH MY GOODNESS! :D Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I don't have time to thank you each individually, but I'd just like to express my immense gratitude! You've all been so supportive...*sends cyber cookies to everyone* And to Silverdash, who doesn't have an account: No, Ethan was actually somebody I thought up myself a while back :) Good idea, though! I promise Ethan is going to be quite different from CP Coulter's Ethan...And he doesn't have a twin! lol**

**And without further ado, here's the next chapter for you! (That TOTALLY rhymed...I should be on Glee ;D)**

…

"Hey, heads up!"

Kurt instinctively ducked down as a thermos went sailing overhead to somebody a couple seats away from him.

The Warblers had met in the parking lot half an hour after school, giving them all time to change into more appropriate attire. Kurt had retrieved his bag from his car and exchanged his uniform for a pair of jeans – the old ones with tattered bottom hems he hardly ever wore anymore, and thus cared the least about dirtying – a white collared shirt, and an emerald green vest he'd gotten from his grandmother last Christmas that didn't go with any of his regular clothing and thus had never been touched until now. He was already feeling out of place and distinctly unnatural. Leaving his uniform in his car (he would be leaving the vehicle in the parking lot all weekend), he locked the doors and headed over to where everyone had gathered around the bus. Blaine smiled when he saw him approaching, earning a similar grin in return. The older boy was adorned in beige cotton trousers and a simple brown t-shirt that hugged him just enough for Kurt's imagination to wander off into inappro-pro land.

When Kurt followed Wes, David, and Blaine onto the bus, however, he was paralyzed with awe. Unlike the typical school buses he'd been familiar with, this was more like a giant limo. The cushioned seats lined both sides, facing each other, with a minuscule bathroom in the back probably even smaller than an airplane's. There was space for luggage to be stored overhead, as well as a mini-refrigerator behind the driver's seat.

"Hey, you alright?" Blaine inquired, amused at Kurt's expression. The younger boy quickly picked his jaw off the floor and moved to place his duffel in the racks above.

"This is...really nice!" he observed, aiming for nonchalance but not quite succeeding.

"Yeah, pretty awesome, isn't it?" the elder Warbler agreed, tossing his own bag up next to Kurt's and sinking down beside him. "One of the many benefits of going to Dalton..."

"If I knew I could be riding in luxury buses like this I would have transferred ages ago!" Kurt joked.

Ethan claimed the seat on the other side of Kurt, beaming like a child with candy. He was wearing chocolate-brown cargo pants and a blue-and-white plaid collared top, left unbuttoned to show off the definite muscle hidden beneath his white undershirt.

"Hey, Kurt! You look nice!"

Kurt subconsciously crossed his arms over his chest to hide the vest and scoffed. "Oh _please_, I've never _felt_ more hideous...I swear, the second I get back I'm burning all of these things..."

"Aw come on," Ethan coaxed playfully, nudging Kurt's shoulder with his own, "you're one of the few people I know who can dress for outdoors and still look great! I bet half the guys here are just wearing their regular street clothes..."

"Sadly, I have to agree," Kurt chuckled. _Ah, to be a boy without a single thought to spare for appearance...What a tragic concept..._

By this time all the Warblers had loaded into the bus and taken their seats, boisterous and caught up in electrified conversations. Wes stood up at the head of the bus and called over the noise for attention.

"Alright, everybody! Is anyone missing?"

"If they are they're not here to _tell you_!" David pointed out from the back. This was met with a round of laughter.

Wes rolled his eyes and took a head count. "Alright, everyone's here. Let's hit the road!"

A cheer went up, drowning out the roar of the engine coming to life. The bus driver – a middle-aged woman – pulled the limo-bus out of the parking lot and turned down the street towards the freeway.

And thus the 'Weekend to be Remembered' began.

…

Not too long after they started off, the vehicle stuffed full of singers burst into song, which was what they did best. Blaine withdrew his guitar from its case, much to the glee of the rest of the boys. He grinned, contemplated for a moment, then strummed the first few notes of his chosen song. Kurt was a little taken back when he realized what song it was. Blaine's voice filled the bus alone at first, clear and pure, the smile never leaving his lips.

_If I'm young and stupid_

_At least I'm doing it while I'm young and stupid_

_And not while it's out of style_

Thad, who also had quite a flare for the guitar, joined in with his own from across the aisle. Blaine was impressed he knew the chords to this Hedley number. Their two acoustic sounds melded together wonderfully throughout the bus.

_If I'm going nowhere_

_At least I'm going when there isn't nowhere_

_Nowhere that I should have been_

_We might fall apart if we follow our hearts_

_In the end, you know we'll stay true_

At the chorus, Kurt added his voice to Blaine's. The guitarist seemed startled that Kurt knew the lyrics, then pleased. Their voices blended into one, supported by a few of the other boys, including Ethan. Kurt couldn't stop beaming whenever he caught Blaine's eye. He loved how well their voices went together.

_If we carry on, if we play along_

_You can't say we're wrong, you can't say so long_

_At least we did it our way and learned the hard way_

_It's all that these scars say_

_at least we did it our way_

It was then that the entire bus joined as one, some of them clapping, others swaying to the beat. The rest of the song proceeded in this fashion – Blaine singing and playing, Kurt joining in for the chorus, and the boys providing the beautiful backup. When it'd ended, they all burst into uproarious applause, so exuberant that Kurt worried the bus driver would pull over and kick them all out.

Following this Warbler rendition of "Young and Stupid" (so ironically accurate that Kurt couldn't help but wonder if Blaine had chosen it on purpose for that sole reason) was a myriad of different song types, ranging from _Moulin Rouge_ to _Lion King_, from Elvis to Lady Gaga. After a breathtaking version of "Part of Your World," Kurt leaned closer to Blaine and whispered a song in his ear. The dark-haired musician blinked in surprise, but then broke into a smile and nodded. Kurt glanced around as the first few notes bounced through the bus. Numerous Warblers bobbed their head along with, but it was clear the majority of them didn't know the song. That was alright. Kurt would blow them away regardless.

_I never thought I'd change my opinion again _

_But you moved me in a way that I've never known _

_You moved me in a way that I've never known_

_But straight away you just moved into position again _

_You abused me in a way that I've never known _

_You abused me in a way that I've never known _

As the chorus arrived, Kurt found his voice lifted and supported by the vocals of Ethan, Jeff, Blaine, and David, who all apparently knew the song as well. The rest of the boys just continued to bob along happily, some of the dancier Warblers breaking loose in the aisle between the two rows of seats. Kurt, himself, got to his feet, the better to sing, and his hips naturally swayed to the music. He was completely unaware that doing so automatically captured the attention of the two boys on either side of him, who both struggled to look away, and who both failed dismally.

_So break me shake me hate me_

_take me over_

_When the madness stops_

_then you will be alone_

_Just break me shake me hate me_

_take me over_

_When the madness stops_

_then you will be alone_

His voice was deeper than normal, sultry, and although it was easily in his range, he was proud of himself for hitting all the right notes. And it helped that a couple Warblers were practically drooling over his vocals.

_So you're the kind that deals with the games in the mind _

_Well you confuse me in a way that I've never known _

_You confuse me in a way that I've never known _

_So break me shake me hate me _

_take me over _

_When the madness_

_stops then you will be alone _

_So won't you break me shake me hate me _

_take me over _

_When the madness stops_

_then you will be alone _

By the end, whether they were break-dancing in the aisle or swaying in their seats, everyone was moving to the beat. Beaming from ear to ear and breathing a little heavily, Kurt took an exaggerated bow and sank back down. Blaine released his guitar and led the others in a wave of deafening cheers and applause.

"Wow!" Ethan looked dumbstruck, but not in a bad way. "I knew you had spunk, Kurt, but...damn! That was _hot_!"

Before Kurt could respond, Blaine cut in from his other side. "I think the more appropriate term would be 'stunning,' or 'riveting,' or possibly 'magnificent'..."

Kurt was a little surprised by this snappy retort. Although deeply flattered by the adjectives Blaine apparently viewed his performance with, he could not help but wonder about the reason behind his tone. Blaine was very nice, very polite, very dapper. To see him react this way to somebody – a fellow Warbler, no less – seemed so incredibly strange that Kurt couldn't help but stare for a moment. The curly-haired boy, noticing Kurt's raised eyebrow, dropped his gaze to his guitar.

"Yes...that, too," Ethan corrected himself. Kurt turned back to him in time to see his face transform from a deep frown aimed at Blaine to a dazzling smile. He smiled back, but internally he was too confused and distracted by what had just happened for it to feel authentic, and he was pretty sure Ethan saw that, because they did not speak again for a while. It was only when David and Wes convinced Kurt to perform "Fashion" by Lady Gaga that he regained his previous cheer.

Two hours later, after passing around sandwiches, sodas, chips and fruit for dinner, they finally arrived at the camping spot.

"WE'RE HERE!"

**I'll stop there for now...In the next chapter they're gonna go to their campsite, and let's just say things don't go quite as smoothly as they'd planned...;D NOTE: the two songs I used in this chapter? Yeah, basically just added them because I love them. ;) I simply couldn't find any songs about riding in a limo-bus to go camping with a group of a cappella boys! I know, weird, right?**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	4. Chapter 4: Rising Tension

**All these reviews are making me post WAY faster than I've ever done before! You're all AMAZING! *hugs* Keep them coming...They're really inspirational and motivational! Alright, I'll shut up now and let you enjoy the story...**

…

Kurt all but smashed his face into the window in his attempt to see their camping spot. If it was worse than his nightmares he would refuse to get off the bus, he really would. Before he could get a proper look, however, he was swept up with the wave of boys rushing to the exit, and he hardly had time to snatch his bag from the overhead before being carried off the bus. He stumbled a little away from the mad rush of cheering adolescence.

"Um...where is it?"

Blaine slung his pack onto his shoulder and bit back his mirth. They were standing on the side of a dirt road. Forest surrounded them on all sides. The air was clean, clear, crisp. A pleasant breeze rusted the leaves, carrying the birds' songs along with it. Blaine pointed to an even thinner dirt trail, winding through the woods away from the main path. "It's through there..."

"Wow, that's not ominous or anything." Kurt's sarcasm made a few of the other boys within hearing distance titter.

"No, not at all," Blaine chuckled. "Come on, let's help grab some luggage."

Kurt followed him to the opposite side of the bus, where the singers were busy unloading all their camping gear and supplies. Thermal food carriers, sleeping bags, tents, water canteens, they'd brought it all, and in mass quantity. Kurt, not being as strong as Blaine, was handed a couple sleeping bags, while more muscular guys were loaded down with large wooden boxes stuffed with food.

"Alright, do we have everything?" Wes called above the chatter.

David poked his head into the storage unit of the bus. "Yep! We're good!"

"Let's go, then!" A rambunctious cheer sent the nearby wildlife scurrying. Adjusting the strap of his duffel, Kurt positioned the sleeping bags more securely under his arms and followed the group down the path. A puttering roar announced the bus' departure, and he gave it a final glance. _There goes my last chance of escape...I'm officially stuck here for the next two days._

"Well try and contain your excitement, Kurt! It's infectious..."

He turned back to see Ethan grinning that artificially pearly smile at him again. He was carrying two of the food containers, his muscles straining beneath his shirt quite attractively. Kurt laughed shortly. "Sorry," he apologized. "Camping's...not exactly my thing. It's hard to get excited about it."

"Really?" Ethan's eyes widened jokingly. "I never would have guessed!"

"Shut up." Kurt swung a sleeping bag at him playfully, which he easily dodged, laughing in such a childish way Kurt thought it was almost a _giggle_. "How far is it from here?"

"Oh, not that much farther," the blond assured. "You'll be able to see it soon...It's sort of hard to miss, honestly."

"Good to know..." They continued on in pleasant silence. They were near the back of the group. Blaine was up ahead, chatting with Wes and David. Kurt found his eyes wandering towards the back of Blaine's pants and had to mentally scold himself more than once for such inappropriate thoughts. _He's your best friend. Nothing more. _After a minute or so of trekking through the woods, Ethan began to get a little uneasy. He kept readjusting his load.

"Are you alright?" Kurt finally questioned worriedly. "Those look heavy..."

Ethan attempted to appear nonchalant. "No, no, it's fine! I got it." Then, however, he made the mistake of trying to sweep his blond bangs out of his eyes. Kurt saw the two boxes balanced one on top of the other teeter severely. Before Ethan could rebalance them, the top crate slid off, and Kurt, who was both shorter than Ethan and walking right next to him, was unfortunate enough to be exactly where it was aimed. With a startled _uumph_, it slammed directly into his chest. It was much heavier than he'd even guessed, and before he knew it he was flat on his back, winded.

"_Kurt!_"

He was still trying to bring his breath back, coughing, when Blaine ran up to them. Ethan had quickly removed the crate from atop Kurt, looking panicked. The Warblers in the back of the group paused around them. The porcelain-skinned boy sat up, rubbing his chest but unharmed.

"Kurt, are you alright?" Ethan and Blaine both asked fervently.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he assured. "Just a little winded..."

His promise of health did not seem to have any effect, though. "Ethan, be more careful!" Blaine practically barked.

"It was an accident!" Ethan hissed back, visually shaken.

"Guys, really," Kurt tried to calm. _What is _with_ these two?_ "I'm not mad." He got to his feet, Blaine leaping to help him up and Ethan mirroring the gesture on his other side. Kurt brushed the dirt off of his jeans, disgruntled. "Not even ten minutes into the trip and already dusty...Awesome..."

Blaine chortled – a tense, almost forced laugh Kurt was not at all used to – and helped brush off the back of his shirt. Ethan, alternating between piercing Blaine with glares and throwing fretfully guilty looks at Kurt, picked up his luggage and hurried off.

"You alright, Kurt?" a tiny boy – Marcus, Kurt was sure his name was – asked kindly. He was one of the three 'newbies' on this trip, like Kurt; there were two Sophomores that, like Kurt, had joined the Warblers after last year's camping trip, which meant they were all in the same boat. Well, not exactly. Marcus and the other boy – Louis? Henry? Charles? One of those historically-rife names – already had plenty of experience camping.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he repeated. "It's not like I fell down a canyon! Just got squished by a wooden box...Nothing out of the ordinary."

This made Marcus laugh, and, with a friendly nod, he continued on. Blaine waited for Kurt to gather up his duffel and the sleeping bags once more. The older boys' things had been abandoned in the middle of the trail up ahead, and Kurt paused as he grabbed them, both of them then hurrying to catch up with the others.

"What was that?" Kurt murmured to him.

Blaine looked genuinely confused. "'That?'"

"You and Ethan!" he clarified. "Is there something that happened between you guys in the past you're not telling me about...? Because it seems like whenever you're within five feet of each other you're about to kick him."

He shook his head back and forth, back and forth, in a wholly unconvincing way. His carefully light tone did not help his case, either. "No, no, nothing at all. Ethan's...It's nothing. Really. Don't worry about it."

Kurt was about to press further, but it was then that they broke through the trees into a giant clearing, and any thoughts in Kurt's mind promptly eroded away.

It was stunning.

The glade was lush with grass, approximately the size of a football field, with a cleared patch in the middle for campfires. Across this meadow-esque camping spot was a shimmering crystal-blue lake, framed by green and purple snow-capped mountains. Being surrounded on three sides by forest gave it a private, secluded feel, like their own personal piece of Mother Nature.

"Welcome to paradise!" Blaine presented exuberantly.

_Okay...I could get used to this..._

…

**And there you go! They've arrived at last...And Ethan and Blaine are just constantly at each other's throats, aren't they? Haha I didn't originally intend for their relationship to be quite so blatantly tense...But I like it! Hope you enjoyed. In the next chapter we're gonna see what a large group of teenage boys do around a campfire ;D**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	5. Chapter 5: Tents and Campfires

**For the people commenting on the camping spot: It's a real place! Haha it's nowhere near Ohio, though...I'm describing my all-girls summer camp in Vermont! XD But since I'm going off pure memory, and I haven't been in a couple years, it may not be exactly accurate...But I think for the purpose of the story it fits just fine. :) So if you've been to an all-girls summer camp in Vermont...then yeah, you probably HAVE been to this spot! ;D**

**Anyway...Enjoy!**

…

"Guys, come over here and help set up!" David called from across the clearing.

Blaine turned to Kurt. "Ever pitched a tent before?" The twinkle in his eye made Kurt quite sure he was predicting a 'no.'

"I saw my father do it once..." he tried. This just made the older boy laugh, though, and Kurt's eyebrows drew together in a pout as he trailed after. Blaine dumped the tents in the heap of camping supplies they'd created next to the fire pit, and Kurt tossed the sleeping bags in as well.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Blaine pointed out cheerfully. A chuckle escaped him at Kurt's resulting expression of disgust. "Look, I'll make you a deal. If I set up the tent, you'll sit with me tonight at the campfire. Sound fair?"

Kurt did his best to ignore his rapidly fluttering heart, but the enthusiastic grin that broke out across his face ruined that attempt. In truth, he had been planning on doing just that anyway. This situation would be a win-win for him. "I-...I suppose that would be acceptable, yes." Blaine smirked as the younger boy perched himself on one of the logs surrounding the fire-pit, crossed his legs, and watched Blaine with an expectant smile. He rolled his eyes at the immobile teen and got to work, enlisting Marcus and Jeff to assist him. All around, the identical tents the Warblers had brought were springing up, some more quickly than others. Blaine's was one of the first ones completed; he'd clearly pitched a few tents in his time. They were luxury two-sleepers, approximately the size of a regular four-sleeper. When Kurt poked his head inside to check it out, he marveled at being able to stand up straight without smashing his head into the top. There were eight tents in total, all facing inwards towards the fire-pit.

As Kurt pondered over who he'd end up bunking with – it would be decided that night with the use of numbers out of a hat – he noted clouds beginning to roll in from the North. He hoped in passing they would not become a threat to the weekend. He had enough to deal with, thank you very much, without the added concern of bad weather.

"Very nice," he commented to Blaine.

"Think you can handle sleeping in one of these for a couple nights?" Blaine mocked, tossing in two sleeping bags through the opening.

Kurt sneered. "I think I'll manage..."

They smiled at each other, and for some unknown reason they couldn't stop. It wasn't awkward, simply standing there and taking the other in, but it was certainly nothing mere friends would do. Kurt, of course, knew it was because of his feelings – his 'more-than-friends' desires – but Blaine? Blaine was baffled by it. He snapped out of the Kurt-trance (Kurtrance? Perhaps he should name it, considering how often it'd been occurring lately) he'd fallen into when Wes strode passed and oh-so-casually knocked into his shoulder.

"Quit making puppy-dog eyes at Kurt and come help collect firewood," he instructed.

"I beg your pardon?" Blaine suddenly felt a little warm. _Huh...weird...it's nightfall, shouldn't it be getting cooler?_

Wes just smirked at the two of them and continued on towards the trees, joined by the majority of the Warblers. Blaine turned back to Kurt and raised an eyebrow. "You up for it?"

"It?" Kurt's eyes widened.

"Collecting firewood!" Blaine clarified. _Why am I getting flustered? This isn't me at all..._

And then, out of the blue, Ethan was there, weaving an arm through Kurt's. "Let's go help, Kurt!" The boy in question spluttered out some form of affirmatives, throwing a glance back at Blaine behind Ethan's broad back and noticing the evil eye he was throwing the blond's way. He immediately began to hope that perhaps Blaine was jealous. That thought was stopped in its place, however, by his more logical side, and he sighed internally. _He doesn't like you that way, Kurt, remember? Stop disillusioning yourself...You're just making it worse. Something probably happened between Ethan and Blaine way before I came to Dalton. Not everything is about me. Calm down, Diva._

…

An hour later found the boys encircling a roaring campfire. Hot cocoas had been passed around; chocolate bars, giant marshmallows, and graham crackers were gathered into great piles on the log next to Thad, practically overflowing onto the ground. The boys had gradually adorned additional layers as the sun sank below the horizon and out of sight. Kurt was wearing an indigo sweater that was probably not entirely camping-appropriate, but for the moment it was more than suitable. Besides, he looked good in it...Really, _really_ good.

Blaine tore his eyes away from the teen next to him – Kurt _had_ promised to sit with him, after all – and refocused his attention on the marshmallow currently roasting on the end of his stick. It was getting ridiculous how often he found himself staring dumbly at Kurt lately. Ever since this trip had started, something had come over him. He did not know if it was the sense of brotherly protection that Ethan's unabashed flirting ignited in him, or if it was seeing Kurt so utterly far away from his comfort zone...All he knew was he definitely had feelings for the younger member that were not purely friendly, and it was absorbing his entire conscience. _What am I supposed to do? It's not like I can just turn to him and say 'Oh, hey, by the way, I think I may possibly like you, and I was just wondering if you like me back, since you always seem to know more about yourself and your feelings than I do about myself.' _That would have been bad on so many levels.

Kurt glanced over at Blaine, who had slipped on a black blazer that hugged him all too tauntingly. He held his mug of hot cocoa in both hands and sipped it every now and then, more for its warmth than its taste, because honestly it was about as bland as water. There was only so much you could do with instant beverages, though. The group was chatting animatedly, faces illuminated by the firelight. Nobody sat on the South-most log, it being in the direct line of the smoke and embers, but there were no complaints. The closer together they were, the warmer, and the nighttime chill was quickly setting in. Apart from the scattering of stars high above them, their fire was the only source of light, subconsciously drawing them towards it.

"Alright, let's choose our tents then!" Wes called above the din. The group silenced itself. David brought out a hat filled with slips of paper. "Most of you know how this works," Wes continued. "There's a number on each piece of paper, which indicates what tent you'll be in. Number one starts at that tent-" he pointed towards the closest one to himself- "and goes counterclockwise. Got it?"

"Got it," they chanted back.

David went around, avoiding the twigs of marshmallows, and offered the bag to everyone. When he reached Kurt, the countertenor plucked out a slip and opened it, squinting in the limited lighting the fire gave off. Six. He turned to watch Blaine read his own.

"What'd you get?" Kurt asked, not quite as offhandedly as he'd intended. He tried to tell himself it did not matter who he ended up sharing a tent with, but it was pointless. He knew he was going to be disappointed; there were fifteen other Warblers; the chances were slim. _I wish I could sleep with Blaine, though...I- I mean, sleep in the same tent as Blaine! Er, no, that sounds just as bad...Stupid, dirty brain! Stop it!_

"Six."

Kurt was so busy scolding himself that he almost missed the soloist's answer.

"Wait...really?" he gasped. His face lit up. "Me, too!"

"Seriously? What a coincidence!" Blaine beamed equally brightly. He then withdrew his marshmallow from the fire and sandwiched it between two graham crackers and a slab of chocolate. "Now come on, have at least one s'more before the night's over."

"No, really!" Kurt insisted. "It would totally ruin my figure..."

Blaine actually laughed at that. Then, noticing Kurt's frown, he quickly explained, "Kurt, you could probably eat an entire tub of red vines and stay the exact same pant size...Come on! Just one..."

Kurt was prepared to resist further, but then Blaine flashed his signature pout, and the added effect from the flickering flames made Kurt nearly fall backwards off the log. "I-...But-..." Words escaped him. He chased them frantically through the swamp of illiteracy his mind had become until he finally got out, "Alright, _fine_! But if I get fat because of this you're _dead_."

Blaine grinned in triumph. Instead of simply handing the s'more over like a normal person, though – no, no, heaven forbid he refrain from potentially awkward situations for longer than ten minutes – he held the dessert up to Kurt's lips. The countertenor naturally seemed taken aback by this bold move, but before Blaine could do something, anything, Kurt smiled and promptly took a bite out of the gooey treat.

The shiver that ran all the way through Blaine's body was most definitely _not_ the result of the temperature, as cold as it may have been. He found his eyes glued to Kurt's mouth and, despite his best efforts – well, okay, maybe not his _best_ efforts – he could not look away. There was a dab of melted chocolate and marshmallow on the brunette's bottom lip, and Blaine subtly dug his fingernails into his knee to keep from leaning over and licking it off himself. _Get a hold of yourself! What's gotten into you?_

_Kurt_, the voices of Wes and David answered in his own mind. _Come on, haven't you figured it out yet? Jeez you're slow...Just fess up! What's so hard about admitting to yourself you've fallen for Kurt?_

_...I've fallen for Kurt?_

_Of COURSE you have! My God, Blaine, it's like talking to a fire hydrant or something..._

_I've...fallen...for Kurt. I-...I'm in love with Kurt...? No. There's no way!_

_Blaine...Think about it. Do you treat him the way you'd treat a 'friend'? Do you _want_ to?_

_No. Really not. But...Love?_

_Yes. Love. Teenage romance. Racing heartbeat, uncontrollable smiling, constantly thinking about him...Just _accept_ it!_

Blaine smiled affectionately when Kurt caught his eye. No longer listening to the internal voices of his best friends, he simply reached up and wiped the tantalizing chocolate off the corner of Kurt's pink lips. The fashionista blinked rapidly, clearly not having expected that, and watched intently as the older boy licked his finger free of s'more residue.

It was then they both became acutely aware of the dead silence that had befallen the group. For once since their arrival at the campsite, there was no noise apart from the waves rolling onto the shore a little ways away, the whispering of the trees, and the crackling of the fire. Kurt looked around to find expressions varying from knowing smirks to approving grins, and even a disapproving frown from Ethan's direction, all of which were turned towards himself and Blaine.

"...Well, I think this is the perfect time for a song!" Wes announced, mirth tinting his voice. As Kurt flushed a rosy pink, well-hidden thanks to the flames' glow, Blaine and Thad went and retrieved their guitars from the pile of luggage. Kurt, holding the half-eaten s'more Blaine had handed him when he'd gotten up, watched him with a mixture of confusion and pleasure. Blaine had always been a little flirty, sure, but he'd never done anything so...so up close and personal before. It reopened the gate of possibilities in Kurt's mind, the possibilities of a romantic relationship between them.

"Anybody have a song they'd like to suggest?" Wes asked the gathering.

Blaine raised a finger. "Yeah, I've got one..."

"Alright, Blaine. Take it away!" Wes invited.

The dark-haired guitarist winked to Kurt and strummed the first few chords...

…

**Alright, I have to stop it there, or else your brain will overload with too much lovey-dovey development. What song do you think Blaine's going to sing? If you end up guessing one I think will work better I might change it! I'm annoyingly swayable...Is that even a word?**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	6. Chapter 6: Mr Right

**Okay, while re-watching 'Original Songs' for like the 1247****th**** time, I noticed something and I want to know if you guys did too...During Kurt and Blaine's duet, Puck on the verge of tears! 0.o And I went back and re-watched all of season 2 (starting with episode 6, when Blaine shows up for the first time, of course) and noticed that Puck looked pretty murderous during their 'Hey, Soul Sister' number...Are these RIB's subtle Pummel hints for us? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?**

**I'll just shut up now and get on with the story.**

**NOTE: Some language in this chapter. You've been warned...**

…

_I see you passing by every night,_

_You're my day-glow fantasy_

_Your skinny jeans are fitting oh so right,_

_Just like you were made for me_

Blaine glanced none-too-subtly at Kurt's jeans as he sang. The brunette's jaw dropped, and if Blaine wasn't in the middle of a performance he would have scoffed indignantly. Instead, he just crossed his legs, almost tauntingly, and stared intently at Blaine. The dark-haired boy in question smirked and continued on.

_I'll hold you close,_

_Won't let you go_

_Boy, I'm bringing back romance_

_I've got a coat_

_If you get cold_

_All I need is half a chance_

He got to his feet as the chorus arrived, and his beautiful voice was lifted even further into the sky, cushioned by his fellow Warblers – or the ones who knew the song, at least.

_To be that guy-uy-uy right next to you,_

_I'm your Mr. Right,_

_Make me that guy-uy-uy,_

_No one else will do_

_Cause when you're by my side,_

_My heart goes, woah-oa-oa-oa Whoa-oa-oa-oa_

_How can you deny?_

_You can say what you wanna say,_

_But baby, I'm your guy_

He circled the campfire, marshmallow sticks moving out of his way as he moved, hips swaying to the beat created simultaneously by vocal chords and hands pounding on logs. Kurt found himself transfixed by the guitarist like never before. Perhaps it was the mysterious lighting cast from the flames, or the way Blaine's voice filled the night sky...but Kurt felt himself fall in love with Blaine all over again, and he wanted – no, he _needed_ – this song to be about him.

_I said, "Let's go!" _

_He said, "I don't know..." _

_I guess you don't know how to dance_

Kurt had to press a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter at that. The whole 'working-on-the-Warblers'-sex-appeal' fiasco had blown over weeks ago, but it was still fresh in Kurt's mind, and from Blaine's wink across the fire at him, he knew he was thinking the same thing.

_How about a date? _

_This saturday?_

_All I need is half a chance!_

_Oh!_

Kurt felt warmth cascade throughout his body. It was definitely not the result of his sweater's insulation, but rather the way Blaine had stared at him directly the entire time he'd sung those few lines. _Is he...? Did he mean anything by that? Or was it just coincidence?_ Either way, when the chorus arrived once more, Kurt joined in with the rest of the Warblers as they all burst into harmonized back-up vocals.

_To be that guy-uy-uy next to you, _

_I'm your Mr. Right, _

_Make me that guy-uy-uy, _

_No one else will do _

_Cause when you're by my side, _

_My heart goes, woah-oa-oa-oa Whoa-oa-oa-oa_

_How can you deny? _

_You can say what you wanna say, _

_But baby, I'm your guy._

Kurt was the first to burst into applause, quickly followed by the rest of the group (including a reluctant Ethan). Blaine had ended up back where he'd started, right in front of Kurt, and he beamed down at the brunette, panting ever so slightly. Kurt tried to express with his eyes just how wonderful he'd found the song.

"Alrighty!" David got to his feet. "Great, Blaine! Not a very typical campfire song, but...great, nonetheless. Anybody else have a song in mind?"

Jeff raised his hand. "Oh, I got one!"

The singing continued for the better part of an hour. Eventually, however, the cold became a bit much, and a couple boys were beginning to nod off, Thad and Marcus included. Wes suggested they all turn in for the night. There was a great swarm towards the piles of luggage, some guys stumbling in the darkness. Blaine, however, wove his way artfully through the crowd, latched himself onto Ethan's arm, and yanked him away towards the woods.

"What the _hell_, Anderson?" he spat.

"Can it, Johnson. We need to talk," Blaine snapped back, equally venomous. In the hustle and bustle of everybody gathering up their things, nobody noticed them slip away between the trees, well out of earshot.

Nobody, that is, except one Kurt Hummel.

…

This guy was seriously beginning to piss Blaine off, and for such a proper, dapper young man, that was really saying something. He actually had to physically restrain himself from punching Ethan square in the jaw by folding his arms tightly across his chest.

"Look," Blaine hissed, his tone uncharacteristically dangerous. "I have nothing against you personally. You've done nothing yet to make me hate you. But your infatuation with Kurt is starting to really get on my last nerve."

"Why?" the blond challenged. "He's not yours! You don't own him..."

"I never said I did!" Blaine snapped.

"Then stop being so possessive! Jesus christ, Blaine! You act like you're Kurt's boyfriend or something, but you're _not_. And from the looks of it, you won't ever be."

"What's that supposed to mean?" His tone was icy.

Ethan flicked his bangs out of his eyes. "Oh _please_! You've been _friends_" – he said the word the same way one would say 'manure pile' – "for months now, and there's been no development between you two. Isn't that right?"

Blaine glared so fiercely he was sort of disappointed when Ethan didn't catch fire from it. To be fair, though, it was very dark out, so they only actually saw outlines of each other. "_Watch it_, Johnson. Don't talk about stuff you don't know _shit_ about."

"It's his choice who he wants to date!" Ethan barked. "So give me one good reason I shouldn't ask Kurt out! I love him just as much as you do. No, wait, scratch that. I love him _more_ than you. Because you are physically incapable of actually loving somebody properly. So you can _suck it_, Anderson. I'm _not_ backing off this time. You. Don't. _Deserve_ him."

The word 'love' coming out of Ethan's mouth, being focused on Kurt, made Blaine's blood boil. He clenched his jaw so tightly his ears rang. _This bastard..._The taller boy, sniggering smugly at Blaine's expression, began to brush past him on the way back to the campfire. Blaine caught his elbow in a death grip.

"You'd better be careful, Johnson," he warned. "I'm not going to try and stop you from pursuing Kurt. But you should know...I'm going to be fighting _twice_ as hard for him. And in the end, whoever he picks...I'm going to support him. Because _that's_ what a good friend does. And that's what you do for the person you love."

Ethan literally growled at him. "You'll never be _anything_ more than a friend to him, asshole." And with that, he wrenched his arm free from Blaine's grasp and stomped off, breaking branches as he went. The soloist stood there for a moment, breathing heavily as he tried to contain his frustration. If he wasn't worried he'd hurt his hand and not be able to play the guitar for the rest of the weekend, he would have punched a tree trunk. And besides, he was _Blaine Anderson_. Blaine Anderson, the cool, collected, self-assured, mature Blaine Anderson _never_ punched. Ever...

_Even if that fuckface totally deserves one right to the face._

…

**I'll stop there then, shall I? ;D Next chapter will have more Klaineness! Excuse the language in this chapter; it just didn't seem quite as effective when using 'pooptard' and 'lint-licker' instead of 'bastard'...**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	7. Chapter 7: First Night

**Okay, just FYI: I'm not going to be talking about going to the bathroom in the woods or brushing their teeth or any of that sort of thing...Because, um, awk. Haha but just know that they do.**

…

When Blaine returned to the campfire, he and Kurt used flashlights to move their luggage into tent number six and rolled out their sleeping bags next to one another. Even with their bags, there was still plenty of room within the tent. The atmosphere was a little tense, though. Kurt was preoccupied with wondering where Blaine had gone with Ethan, and why the blond had looked so murderous when he'd come storming back to camp. He desperately wanted to ask, but there was something about Blaine's demeanor that told Kurt he would not get a straight answer even if he did.

"Are you alright?" Blaine finally asked as they slipped into their sleeping bags.

"What? Yeah, fine!" Kurt assured quickly. "Just...wondering how people could enjoy sleeping on the ground."

Blaine snorted. "It's part of the camping experience!"

"It's insanity!" Kurt insisted. But he could not stop from smiling when Blaine just laughed some more. The awkward aura in the tent evaporated. They were best friends. It was hard for them _not_ to get along. The darkness of the night was eased slightly by the near-full moon, the outline of which Kurt could make out through the thin material of their tent. He was not used to the chirping of nocturnal birds, the occasional scurry of small mammals, the waves on the shore. But he liked it.

"It's so peaceful, isn't it?" Blaine seemed to speak what was in Kurt's mind.

"It really is," he agreed with a sigh of contentment. There was a comfortable silence between them as they just laid there and listened to the sounds of Mother Nature around them. A nameless boy in another tent sneezed. Another called 'bless you' to him. Deciding he would at least _try_, Kurt rolled onto his side so he was facing Blaine. "Hey...What's up with you and Ethan, anyway?"

Blaine turned his head to find Kurt staring at him, quite seriously. "I-...What do you mean?"

Kurt frowned. The moonlight caught his eyes and made them dance. It was suddenly very hard for Blaine to remember how to breathe. "Come _on_, Blaine!" This did not help his condition any. "Don't try and pretend there's nothing going on. I saw you guys go off together into the woods. I don't know about you, but that would make any normal person sort of suspicious!"

Blaine's eyes fell closed. _Busted_. He heaved a sigh and resigned himself to telling Kurt the truth. Or at least part of it. Some he would definitely leave out. He rolled to mirror Kurt's position, doing his best to ignore the close proximity Kurt's lips were to his. "Kurt...what do you think of Ethan?"

"Huh?" The question came out of nowhere. "I-...He's okay, I guess? He's really nice to me, at least, and he always lets me copy his notes when I zone out in class. But obviously you don't feel the same way..."

Blaine's expression seemed to sadden fractionally. "We-...We were really close back when I first transferred. But...around the same time as your own transfer, we...Well, we just sort of fell apart from each other. We were still civil enough, though, up until a couple days ago..."

Kurt immediately turned sympathetic. He asked gently, "What happened?"

Blaine looked him right in the eye and answered with complete seriousness. "I realized he'd fallen in love with you."

Even the nightlife fell silent at that.

"Wh-...What?" Kurt breathed. His eyes were wide. Surely he'd heard him wrong. Ethan? In love with him? Either he was extraordinarily clueless, or Blaine was wrong. "I- I don't think-"

"Just- Just trust me." Blaine seemed a little upset by what he was saying, which made Kurt think that he was probably telling the truth after all. "Haven't you noticed how flirty he's been with you lately?"

"I-...no!" the younger boy murmured honestly. He had assumed all the kind gestures, the bright white smiles, had been strictly friendly...No doubt Kurt had been so wrapped up in everything _Blaine_ was doing that he'd completely missed the signs. _Well, this makes everything uncomfortable...What am I supposed to say to Ethan now?_

Blaine was clearly thinking along the same lines. "So...does this mean you don't return his feelings?"

_No, you idiot, I'm completely in love with _you_, can't you see?_ Kurt wanted to scream. But he held it in. Instead he scoffed at the idea and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling of the tent. "Don't be ridiculous, Blaine. We're just friends, okay? He's nice, but I've never had any romantic feelings towards him. Promise."

"We're just friends, too..."

The whisper was so quiet that Kurt, even in the quiet of the night, barely caught it. It sounded...regretful. Almost...disappointed? Kurt's heart swelled and his pulse raced with hope. He knew he wasn't dreaming – the rock digging uncomfortably into his shoulder was indication of that. Was it just his wishful mind, twisting the words? He sincerely hoped not. He could not even count how many hours he'd spent in the past few months daydreaming about the day when Blaine realized that he loved Kurt back. Up until then, though, he had assumed it would never be more than a fantasy.

However, the way Blaine had said that ignited wishful thinking in Kurt that was impossible to extinguish.

"Y-Yes...I suppose so," he muttered delicately. Blaine looked over to see that Kurt's eyes were wide and fixated on the tent's roof. He looked sort of nervous. Had Blaine gone too far with that last comment? _But from what he'd told me at Valentine's Day...He _does_ have feelings for me, doesn't he? Or am I just deluding myself? I seem to be a pro at that, after all..._

"Well, anyway, I'm glad you're not into Ethan. He's wrong for you." This casual remark made Kurt's eyebrows jump. He heard his tent-mate shift around in his sleeping bag and let out a long, sleepy yawn. "Goodnight, Kurt!"

"Goodnight," he mumbled, only half present. His mind was elsewhere, still mulling over what Blaine had really meant by all that. All these seemingly innocent comments were driving Kurt absolutely insane. If he didn't love Blaine so much he would be extremely irritated with him.

"Oh, and Kurt...?"

He snuggled deeper into his sleeping bag. "Yeah?"

"...I can't wait to see what your bed-head looks like."

It was the first time Kurt had ever seriously considered throwing a shoe at Blaine.

…

**Oh my oh my, the sexual tension could be cut with a plastic spork! XD Sorry, this chapter was pretty short. More action will come in the next chapter, I promise! This is mostly just angsty, too-shy-to-speak-their-feelings Klaine...And, due to multiple requests for a Klaine tent scene...there shall be another one coming up in a later chapter! That'll be much more...yummy. ;)**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	8. Chapter 8: Bedhead and Swimming

**I didn't realize this fanfic was going to be so long 0.o lol I'd originally planned for 6 chapters...(Obviously THAT didn't happen) But I hope you're all enjoying it so far! Here's some more yummy, adorifying Klaineage for y'all! Try not to squeal too loudly ;D**

…

"Blaine. Blaine, wake up."

The soloist groaned, having been dragged from a very pleasant dream in which he was dancing in the empty, sunlight-strewn hallways of Dalton with Kurt, singing whatever came to mind without a care in the world. He tried to bury his face into his pillow and ignore the prodding at his shoulder. _Five more minutes, Mom._

"Blaine!" the voice hissed, a bit louder.

Grumbling, he rolled over, trying to focus on the face hovering over him.

"Kurt?" he mumbled. _What are you doing in my bed?_ He glanced around. _Oh. Right. I'm in a tent. That explains the lack of cushioning. Seriously, how was I able to _sleep_ on his damn tree root?_

"I need to go to the bathroom," Kurt whispered.

Blaine blinked slowly. "Okay. Um, you could have just gone. You didn't have to tell me."

Kurt looked scandalized. "What if I get attacked by a bear and you didn't know where I was and I die a slow and painful death out there and you don't realize anything's wrong until you guys stumble upon my mangled body in the morning?"

Blaine snorted indelicately. "I think you'll be alright," he chuckled. He was about to settle back down and try to return to his dream when he caught Kurt's expression. He looked genuinely scared. With a sigh, he sat back up. "Want me to go with you?"

Kurt smiled in relief. "Yes, please."

They slid on shoes and stumbled out of their tent. Treading carefully and equipped with flashlights, they made their way into the woods away from the other tents, moonlight helping to guide them. Kurt flinched at every noise – the skittering of a squirrel, the chirp of a bird, the rustle of leaves.

"You okay?" Blaine asked.

Kurt nodded stiffly. "I've seen enough horror flicks to know what happens when someone goes off alone into the forest, Blaine. This place just gives me the creeps at night..."

Blaine laughed lightly. When he felt they were far enough away from the campsite, he stopped and leaned against a tree trunk. "I'll wait here for you."

The countertenor nodded and kept going. Blaine watched the beam of his flashlight for a moment before closing his eyes and resting his head back against the tree. _Stay awake, stay awake..._Even the rough bark digging into his shoulders couldn't keep him from drifting.

What did end up snapping him awake was the chattering noise close-by.

His eyes flew open, and his flashlight beam fell upon a large, snarling black raccoon. He gasped and pressed into the tree trunk. It approached him slowly. _Oh my god how do you deal with raccoons? Am I supposed to run? Or make a lot of noise? Holy shit can I die from getting bit by a raccoon? What do I do!_

"Blaine!"

"Kurt!" he choked, trying to tell him to stay back, but the brunette charged directly at the wild mammal, giving a powerful swing of his flashlight and clipping it in its muzzle. It squealed and scampered off into the darkness. Blaine's jaw dropped.

"You see?" Kurt cried, whirling on him and brandishing his flashlight like a knife. "This place is dangerous! I cannot believe I actually agreed to come on this trip, what _was_ I thinking? I don't know about you but I plan on living many more peaceful, un-maimed years-"

"Kurt." Blaine stepped forward and slid his arms around Kurt's shoulders. The taller boy immediately tensed, then seemed to melt into his touch. "Thank you."

Blaine could feel Kurt's lips curling up in a smile against his neck. "You're welcome."

"Let's go back to the safety of our tent."

"Okay." He latched his hand to Blaine's, and they did not let go the entire way back. Unacknowledged, but appreciated.

…

When Blaine woke up the next morning, the first thing he thought of was how extraordinarily uncomfortable it was to sleep on the ground. There was a twig nudging his hip, and no matter what position he adjusted himself into there was just no getting rid of it. _Kurt had a point last night...why didn't we bring extra padding?_ At the thought of Kurt, he turned his head rather quickly towards the other side of the tent, cracking his neck painfully in the process.

Kurt looked, simply put, like an angel.

He laid on his stomach, head resting on his left arm, his right hand curled loosely in front of his face. His lips were parted slightly, his eyelids twitching every so often from dreams. Those usually flawless brunette locks were no longer molded back into that fluffy, perfect coif of his. The front was falling forward and tickling his forehead, the part resting against his forearm pushed up in an adorably haphazard way. Yet, despite the obvious bed-head, Blaine still had the almost overwhelming urge to run his fingers through it.

He just laid there for a while, listening to the steady breathing filling the tent. It was more natural, more relaxing, than any of the noises he could hear outside, like the water and the wind. He would not at all mind waking up to this boy every morning.

After a while, though, he realized how creepy and Cullen-esque it was of him to watch Kurt sleep. Ignoring the slight heating in his face, he sat up and reached for his bag. Moving as quietly as possible, he changed into a fresh set of clothing, one eye on Kurt the entire time to make sure he did not awake to a half-nude Blaine. (Although, had actually Kurt awoken, Blaine had no clue what he would have actually done. Perhaps dived into his sleeping bag...) It was as he was running his hand through his head of curls, working through the worst of the knots, that Kurt finally stirred.

"Morning, Sleepy-head," he murmured brightly.

Kurt moaned and buried his face into the crook of his elbow. "Bllllln! Indmrsllp..."

Blaine burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Previously, he had never had the pleasure of seeing Kurt wake up, and it was an insanely humorous and endearing process. He crouched down next to Kurt's sleeping bag. "What was that, dear?"

_Oh. Shit._

He had not meant to let that 'dear' slip in there. He mentally slapped himself. Luckily, though, Kurt was either still too sleepy to catch it, or did not mind. Blaine's heart was leaning towards the 'not minding,' but his more logical brain insisted it was just the sleepiness.

Kurt lifted his head, eyes squinting against the light of the morning sun streaming in through the tent's flimsy walls. "I said 'Blaine, I need more sleep!'"

"Come on!" Blaine urged playfully, fingers massaging his right shoulder. "Time to get up and start the day...You'll miss out on the camping experience if you stay in bed! Well, stay in sleeping bag, anyway..."

Kurt groaned once more – Blaine had to think of lamps and boobs and screwdrivers to keep his thoughts from getting too out of control from that – and rubbed his eyes free of sleep with a delicate finger. "I didn't realize you were such a morning person..."

"Well, not always," he confessed. "I just feel extremely energetic today." _And that totally has _nothing_ to do with the fact that I woke up next to the cutest guy in the world. Nope. Not at all._

Kurt forced himself into a sitting position. He reached up absentmindedly to brush back his hair from his face. It was then he remembered that he currently had no hairspray in his hair, and his crush was getting quite a good look at this absence.

"Get out!" he panicked, leaping to his feet. If the tent had been two inches shorter he would have smashed his head into the top. "Don't look!"

Blaine laughed at this but allowed Kurt to push him towards the exit. "Alright, alright, I'm going!" He unzipped the 'door' and stepped out into the nippy morning breeze, snatching his shoes just before Kurt zipped him out. If ever he'd seen someone slam a tent flap, it was then. He put on his sneakers and wrapped his jacket closer around himself, tucking his bare hands into his pockets and trying to embrace the cold instead of hide from it. Most of the other tent occupants still seemed to be unconscious. He took the moment to admire the scenery; it really was a lovely spot. The skies were beginning to crowd with clouds, however, and he knew he should keep an eye on them throughout the day, because if it looked like rain was imminent they would have to put the rain jackets onto the tents. It was always a much easier process if performed _before_ it began to pour (which was what had happened last year).

Wes and Jeff – who had drawn tent numbers together – stepped out one at a time, still looking drowsy. Wes smiled when he spotted Blaine.

"Morning!" he greeted, wandering closer so he could lower his voice and keep from waking any of their fellow Warblers. "What are you doing up so early? It's..." He checked his watch. "Not even eight yet!"

Blaine shrugged. "I woke up about twenty minutes ago, but then Kurt woke up and kicked me out so he could fix his hair."

Wes and Jeff both joined in with the chuckling at that. Then Wes got a mischievous glint in his eye. "So..." He drew the word out, leaning in closer as if about to exchange dirty secrets. "How did you sleep last night?"

Blaine's eyebrows drew together. He knew what his friend was suggesting, but he decided to ignore the double entendre. "Fine, thank you. And yourself?"

Jeff snorted. "I think we _all_ know what Wes meant..."

Blaine glared. "Oh grow up, both of you!"

Wes snickered, accepting the punch he got on the arm for his immaturity, before turning serious once more. "But really, Blaine...When are you just gonna make a move already? Kurt's not gonna wait around forever...And from the looks of it, Ethan's not going to be backing down anytime soon. If you're not careful Kurt's gonna be swept off his feet by Mr. Perfect Smile..."

The mention of the blond's name made Blaine grit his teeth, his hands curling into fists in his pockets.

The sound of a zipper made him whirl around. Kurt emerged from their tent, unfolding himself from the opening into the clean, fresh air. His hair, while not solidified into its perfect form like usual, still looked great; voluminous and light, it was combed up in its regular style, much more natural and much less artificial. Blaine loved it. He wore black skinny jeans that practically _begged_ Blaine to stare at his hips, a plain silver tee, and a hugging all-shades-of-gray sweater that only went halfway down his torso and was most likely purchased from the women's section of the store. Not that it didn't look amazing on him. Because it did. It really, _really_ did. And Blaine was about to keel over from how much he wanted to kiss the boy right now.

They made eye contact, and after a few seconds they both looked away, smiling to themselves. Wes and Jeff exchanged exaggeratedly exasperated eye rolls and walked away, muttering about making some breakfast. Their presence was not missed.

"Are you hungry?" Blaine asked.

The half-smirk Kurt gave him was unexpected and very un-Kurt, and it gave Blaine the sensation of having his heart pulled out and put on a platter, to be offered up to this god. He was surprisingly okay with this. _What's gotten into him? Five minutes ago, he was freaking out about his hair and pushing me out of the tent..._

"Yes...I'm starving," Kurt confessed. He stepped forward and placed his hand at the neck of Blaine's jacket. He nearly had a heart attack. His mind was racing, his thoughts going as fast as his heartbeat. _What's going on? Kurt's being so...so _forward_! If he keeps this up I'm definitely not going to be able to hold back. And if I kiss him now everything will be ruined! Oh god, Kurt, stop being so damn attractive-_

"You look really good in this blazer," Kurt complimented. "You should wear it more often..." The pressure on his sternum relaxed, his hand drifting higher.

"Th-Thanks." He hated himself for sounding so breathless.

"Let's go have some breakfast..." Kurt's fingertip trailed from his adam's apple up to his chin and along his jawline, lingering near his ear. As he strode past the stupefied Blaine, he leaned in towards this very ear and added in a whisper, "...Dear."

_Holy mother of-!_

It was official. Blaine had fallen, and he had fallen _hard_.

…

An hour later found all of the Warblers sitting on the logs, bundled up and complaining lightly about the stiffness resulting from sleeping on the ground. Most of them were holding a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.

Blaine and Kurt were sitting next to each other once again, only this time Ethan was on Kurt's other side. Blaine didn't even give him a proper glare, though. After his brain began to re-function again, he's realized that Kurt had indeed heard his slip-up earlier on in the tent, and instead of blushing in embarrassment, he was practically floating on his own personal Kurt-cloud.

"Hey, Kurt!" Ethan captured the countertenor's attention. "What would you say to a dip in the lake later on, when it gets warmer?"

Kurt's eyebrows jumped northwards. "Are you serious? Isn't it freezing right now?"

"Nope!" Marcus joined the conversation from the next log over, leaning towards them and smiling cheerfully. "I felt it yesterday when we first arrived. It wasn't too bad, actually! Not warm, of course, but not too cold to swim in."

Ethan turned back to Kurt expectantly. "So? What do you say?"

Kurt took a sip of his coffee. "I suppose a little dip wouldn't be too bad...Besides, it's the closest thing to a bath I'll be getting all weekend."

"Great!" Ethan looked about ready to get up and do a jig. Kurt couldn't help but smile at how easily pleased he was. Then he remembered what Blaine had told him the night previous in the tent, however, and he quickly looked away. If Kurt was anything, he was not a tease. He did not want to give Ethan false hope.

The brunette turned to Blaine instead. "Will you be going in, too?"

Blaine, who had been frowning quite noticeably, quickly tried to hide it. He shook his head. "No, I don't think so..."

"Why not?"

_Is it just me, or did Kurt sound a little depressed? Yeah, it was probably just my imagination at it again..._"I-...I'm just not really in the mood for swimming," he tried to shrug it off. "No big deal..."

Kurt knew something was up, but he decided not to press the matter. Instead, when he'd finished off his coffee, he allowed Ethan to pull him towards the water, sending an almost apologetic smile back at Blaine. Almost all the Warblers ended up deciding to go in. Blaine and only two others opted to stay on land – one because his uncle had recently got stung by a jellyfish and was thus terrified of the water now, and the other because he was on clean-up duty (a punishment afflicted by the Warbler Council for missing the most practices last semester).

The shore surrounding their mini-peninsula of a camping site was all sandy and gradual. The Warblers instead made their way westward for a minute or two, until they found the spot they were looking for. It was elevated from the water, creating a noticeable cliff about ten feet high. The water below was dark, indicating its depth.

It was mid-morning, and the sun was already beginning to warm them up. Still, when the boys stripped off their jackets and sweaters, followed by their shirts and pants, goosebumps erupted all over their bodies and there were many playfully shouted complaints about the temperature. Jeff was the first one in, practically flinging himself off the edge into the water below. He created a massive splash. The guys still on land whooped and cheered.

"How it is?" David called when Jeff's head came back up.

"_Awesome_!" he yelled back. "Get in!"

And with that, about five more jumped in after him in quick succession.

Ethan came over to Kurt, eyes dancing excitedly as he stripped off his shirt. Kurt felt guilty for how his eyes seemed drawn to the taller boy's well-toned chest. _Wait, why should I feel guilty? Blaine and I aren't together...although from what I overheard this morning from outside the tent, that might change sometime soon...I can hope at least, right?_

"You ready?"

"I- Are you _sure_ it's not too cold?" he pressed, eyeing the lake suspiciously.

"Of course! If all those guys can stand it, we can." He patted Kurt on the shoulder and dashed towards the edge of the cliff. Kurt watched in horror as he flew into the air. He all but body-slammed the surface of water, creating a mushroom-cloud of droplets high enough to sprinkle even Kurt atop the precipice. He gasped. _What are they talking about? It's frigid!_

"Aren't you going in?"

He turned to the familiar voice. Blaine stood leaning against a tree trunk, watching the proceedings with a smirk. Kurt could tell the question was genuine, though. He glanced back at the Warblers fooling around in the cold water – splashing, kicking, pushing each other under the surface – and then to Blaine. It wasn't a hard decision to make.

"No, I think I'll stay up here with you, actually."

Neither of them even pretended to ignore the giant grins spread identically across their faces.

…

**I'm excited for the next tent scene. I'm just loving the whole big-enough-for-anything-to-happen size of the tents...Whoever thought up that was brilliant! (blatant self-praise ;D) Anywho, hope you've enjoyed, as usual! I expected to get much farther in this chapter...But I just couldn't help adding Wes and Jeff in there.**

**PS. I want a Kurt-cloud. Like, really hard.**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	9. Chapter 9: A Cliffhanger

**Wooooow, this update was über-delayed. Forgive me! My sister came home from college this week. She's gone now though so I'll try my hardest to update more often! Don't hold me to my word, though, I'm notoriously bad at things like that...**

**Also, I intended to have Marcus star much more...what happened to that? :( I guess I got distracted with the whole Ethan thing...Sad face!**

…

They sat under the shade of the trees, watching their peers splash around in the water below. The sun was rising in the sky. The shouts and laughter coming from the boys drifted up to them on the crisp, refreshing breeze, which rustled the leaves above and created such a pleasant aura that both Blaine and Kurt were finding it difficult to believe this was real life. Surely moments like these only appeared in Disney movies, right?

"So why didn't you want to swim?" Kurt asked, turning to him. They sat shoulder-to-shoulder, even though the tree trunk they were leaning against was more than wide enough to fit in a third person if need be. Neither of them seemed to mind the proximity, though. "Even Greg went in, and he's terrified of water! Now look at him..." He pointed, and sure enough the guy in question was engaged in a breath-holding contest with Jeff and David.

Blaine seemed hesitant to answer. "I-...It's sort of embarrassing, actually..."

Kurt's interest piqued. "Really? Why?"

"It's just...not something you'd really expect of me." He looked down at his fiddling hands. Kurt knew he rarely fidgeted. It just made him that much more curious.

"Oh come on! Please tell me? I promise I won't laugh..." He nudged Blaine gently with his shoulder, smiling. Blaine could never resist that smile. He sighed heavily in defeat. As he spoke, he kept his eyes fixed on the mountains across the lake from them, too abashed to meet his gaze.

"I...I don't really know how to swim very well..."

Kurt's jaw dropped in spite of himself, and he bit back a snort. "Wh-What?"

Blaine's gaze flickered to him, checking to see if he was about to laugh at him or not. "I mean, my parents paid for lessons when I was a child, of course, but apart from that I've never swam. It always terrified me...It would be so easy to drown! And what if you hit your head?"

"I don't believe it!" Kurt breathed. He shook his head, grinning and still attempting to hold back his mirth. "Blaine Anderson, the dashing soloist of the Dalton Academy Warblers, doesn't even know how to _swim_..."

"Please don't judge me!" he pouted, quoting Kurt from back when the countertenor had been freaking out before Regionals. "It's never come up before...I never had to swim in gym class, since we didn't have a pool at my old school and at Dalton it's voluntary, and whenever I went to the beach or a lake or something with friends they were always cool with me just hanging out on the shore."

"Blaine," Kurt chided, "you're going to have to get over this at some point! There's going to come a time when you'll need the skill...I don't know, maybe you're on a fancy cruise and you hit an iceberg and the ship goes down and-"

"Kurt, the _Titanic_ sank years ago," Blaine reminded, chuckling.

"It's still a valid concern!" he defended. Then an idea came to him. "You know...if you'd like, maybe I could help? You know, some private swimming lessons or something?"

Blaine's inner-mind went into overdrive, picturing all sorts of scenarios that involved both of them shirtless and drenched in water. Before it got too far, however, Ethan of all people climbed out of the water (there was a less inclined slope not far off they could easily use instead of crawling up the side of the mini-cliff) and came over to them. Blaine resisted the urge to tell him to go away. He was determined to be civilized with Ethan, at least while Kurt was around.

"Hey, Kurt, why aren't you coming in?" the baritone asked, flashing that annoying-as-all-hell smile at the brunette and ignoring Blaine completely.

Kurt smiled back, but it was a little forced. He had wanted to hear Blaine's answer. Nevertheless, he knew Ethan was just being nice, and he wouldn't want to come off as rude to any of his fellow Warblers. "Oh, sorry, Ethan. But I just remembered that my hair doesn't look too good when it's air-dried, and I don't have any hairspray with me..." _Nice cover up_, he congratulated himself inwardly.

Ethan's face fell. "Oh, okay...You sure? I mean, I'm sure none of us would care..."

_You just want to see Kurt with messy hair, don't you?_ Blaine snarled in his head. _Well tough luck. You're missing out. Because I've seen Kurt's bed-head, and it is _hot_._ "Look, Johnson, if he doesn't want to go in you shouldn't pressure him to."

Kurt's grateful smile was countered by Ethan's glare. "I wasn't talking to you, Anderson."

"Whoa, guys! Cool it," Kurt ordered quickly. "You two really need to back off each other, or else I'm going to start hiding the cooking knives we've brought..."

Ethan laughed. "That won't be necessary, Kurt. If you want to come in later, I'll be waiting..." And with that, he winked – Blaine nearly vaulted from his spot and tackled him – and took a running jump back into the water, splashing the others. Kurt sighed. No matter how much he tried to get across his let's-just-be-friends vibe, Ethan seemed to be purposefully ignoring it. If he didn't make it clear that the only person he wanted to be more intimate with was Blaine, something very ugly was going to do down. And he would _not_ be the cause of a fight.

…

If Blaine wasn't so pusillanimous about confessing his feelings, he would have told Kurt, then and there, that he was completely infatuated with him and if he didn't kiss him immediately he might actually spontaneously combust.

They were weaving through the trees together before dinner. The setting sun was tinting the cloud-scattered skies pink and orange. The temperature had dropped – worth a thick coat, but still well above freezing. It looked like it was definitely thinking about raining on them sometime soon. After lunch they had put up the rainproof jackets on all the tents, just to be safe. Blaine had invited Kurt to take a walk along the shore. He'd eagerly accepted, noting as they left the look of contempt Ethan threw Blaine's way. Just for that, he slipped his arm through Blaine's.

"How are you liking it so far?" Blaine asked. His gaze kept flickering between the adorable boy on his arm and the ground, making sure he did not trip and fall flat on his face. "You know, this whole camping thing."

"It's..." Kurt tried to find words for it. "Better than I expected. Endurable, I guess you could say." He snickered, startling a squirrel and making it dash up into the treetops above.

"Really? That's great!"

"I mean, you're not gonna see me staking a tent every other weekend now," he quickly clarified, earning a snort of laughter from Blaine. "But...it's been pretty nice here."

Blaine smiled widely at him, and Kurt gave one in return. The fading sunlight was dancing in his blue eyes, making his pale skin positively glow. "I'm really, really glad to hear that, Kurt...I know camping really isn't your thing. I was worried you'd have an awful time."

Kurt chuckled lightly. _Oh Blaine, I could never have an awful time when you're around..._

"Really?"

He glanced up, shellshocked. _Did I seriously say that out loud? _Blushing a light pink, he giggled uncomfortably and nodded. Blaine knew, then at there, that he'd have to tell him. Now. He couldn't hold back any longer. He needed to throw his insecurities out the window and lay his cards on the table, because all these signs he was getting from Kurt were too much to handle, and if he had even the slightest chance of becoming Kurt's boyfriend, he was going to snatch it.

"Kurt, I need to tell you something..."

"Okay. What is it?"

He gazed deeply into Kurt's eyes, felt all his subdued affections for the boy swell up in his chest, took a deep breath-

But suddenly felt nothing but air beneath his foot as he moved to take another step.

…

**Oh my lord, I think I've legitimately turned evil for leaving you with a cliffhanger like that. Literally. *practices my evil cackle***

**Kudos for using 'pusillanimous'...? ;)**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	10. Chapter 10: Save My Life

**There was a surprising number of guesses that Ethan pushed Blaine off. Glad to know what you guys really think of him ;D**

…

"BLAINE!"

It wasn't slow-motion, like in all those movies. One second Kurt was smiling at Blaine, waiting for him to say whatever it was he wanted to say, and the next, he was gone. The sound of rock crumbling and a sharp intake of breath was all that Kurt's mind could process. He reached out reflexively, but it was too late; his fingers enclosed around nothing. He was paralyzed with shock. His brain was empty, blank.

_B-Blaine...?_

A splash finally ripped him from his paralysis. He exhaled the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and fell to his knees, leaning over the edge of the cliff, panic-stricken. His heart was racing in his chest, eyes fixated on the disturbed water below. He waited for Blaine to resurface, to tell him that he was fine, to rub his head embarrassedly and apologize for being so klutzy.

But he didn't resurface.

"_Oh god.._." Kurt stripped off his jacket and his scarf, flung them hastily to the side, and, without another thought, dove in after him.

The water was an icy blast. How the other boys had endured it was beyond him. His clothing weighed him down, only adding to the usual underwater restriction of movement. But that didn't matter. He had to find Blaine. Opening his eyes, he peered through the clear lake water surrounding him, desperately searching for the dark-haired Warbler. It was not hard to spot him – he was struggling, only a few meters away, his leg seemingly trapped. Kurt swam over as quickly as he could. Blaine pant leg was caught in a pile of rocks – no doubt from when he had fallen in – and he was obviously running out of air, fast. He stopped tugging. Went limp. Frantic, Kurt grabbed the fabric, braced his feet against the crumbled boulder, and pulled with all his might. A large chunk of the hem tore off. But Blaine was free. Without a moment to lose, Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist and pushed off the lake bottom.

Gasping for much-needed oxygen, Kurt endeavored to keep Blaine's head above the water as well. The older boy was either unconscious or nearing it. Kurt was on auto-drive. His mind had shut down; he was acting on pure instinct. He swam to shore, still making sure Blaine did not slip back under, and did not even care that he was destroying his nails by crawling back onto land. He did not stop dragging Blaine until they were once again on solid, flat ground, distant from the edge of the cliff. He leaned Blaine against a tree trunk – the same one they'd sat under mere hours beforehand – and knelt beside him.

"_Blaine_! Blaine, are you alright?"

He brushed the dripping bangs out of the dark-haired Warbler's eyes. He was breathing; that was good, at least, even though it was shallow and weak. Kurt wasn't sure what to do, how to help. He knew better than to perform CPR on somebody who was already breathing. _But I've got to do _something_, I can't just _sit_ here! I can't watch him die on me. Oh god Blaine, please don't die...Please!_ Blaine's eyes remained shut, eyebrows drawn, gasping for tiny breaths that, despite their quietness, rang deafeningly in Kurt's ears.

When the older boy's eyes suddenly flew open, and he began to cough up an unnerving amount of lake water, Kurt very nearly burst into tears of relief. _He's going to be okay._ It was as if a gigantic weight lifted from his chest. He was as light as air. Nothing else mattered. The joy, the overwhelming solace was indescribable. Blaine rolled into Kurt's lap, still coughing, and Kurt ran a soothing hand through his curls. Laughter bubbled from his lips; the adrenaline was finally washing out of his system.

"Hey, it's okay," he murmured, to himself just as much as Blaine. "It's okay now. You're fine...You're going to be alright." He waited for Blaine to get all the unwanted liquid out of his lungs and esophagus, still stroking his damp hair. "Don't _ever_ scare me like that again, Blaine..."

Blaine gave him a weak smile and rasped, "I don't think I'll be taking you up on those swimming lessons anytime soon, I'm afraid..." Kurt laughed. He was a little lightheaded, still reveling in the fact that Blaine was awake. "Kurt, I-..." He moved to sit up, but he winced with a sharp intake of breath.

"You okay?" Kurt pressed worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah," Blaine nodded, clutching his left shoulder. "I probably just hit it when I fell..." He pulled back his shirt's neck, and Kurt spotted a large patch of raw, scraped skin peeking out.

In truth, it did hurt quite a bit, but Blaine felt that he'd already made Kurt frantic enough as it was. He didn't need to give him another reason to fret. He could endure.

Kurt did not buy it, though. "Take off your shirt," he commanded.

"I- _what_?" Blaine spluttered. A dozen inappropriate thoughts raced through his mind in quick succession. _Here? Now?_

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I can't tend to your shoulder with a shirt on, now can I?"

"Oh...well, yes. Right." Blaine watched Kurt carefully as he stripped off his sopping wet long-sleeved shirt, shivering as the chilly afternoon air enveloped his naked skin. His shoulder protested the movement. Kurt snatched up his abandoned scarf from the ground and returned to Blaine's side, trying very, very hard not to let his eyes wander over Blaine's deliciously exposed chest.

His shoulder was not too bad. It would definitely scab up something fierce, but there would be no scarring. It wasn't deep, just spread out over a large area, giving the impression of being worse than it actually was. Kurt dampened the scarf by pressing it against his own dripping shirt before moving to Blaine's side and cleaning up the torn epidermis as best he could. Dampen, clean, repeat. The repetition was calming. Blaine gritted his teeth against hisses of pain.

"Thank you..." he murmured, eyes downcast.

"What for?" The brunette wrapped the scarf over Blaine's shoulder, wincing apologetically when Blaine flinched.

"For...For going in after me." He looked up. The intensity of his hazel gaze enraptured Kurt completely, and for a moment he froze, shoulder forgotten. "You...You saved me, Kurt...If- If you hadn't been there..."

And then, before either of them knew what was happening, Kurt's lips were pressed against his, and they were kissing, and his eyes were closing, and he was kissing him back, and the outside world disappeared. It was just the two of them. Blaine reached up and cupped Kurt's cheek, mouth urgent against his. He'd wanted this, _needed_ this. _Did I actually drown and go to heaven?_

Kurt drew back, practically panting, but grinning.

"Wh-What...?" the curly-haired boy breathed.

"I overheard you and Wes and Jeff this morning outside the tent," he confessed, smiling guiltily as he returned to tying off the scarf. "I'd...I'd been hoping you'd realize I liked you and ask me out for a long time now. I just-...I couldn't wait any longer. You have no idea how many times I've imagined kissing you..."

Blaine stared in awe, mouth open in astonishment._ He-...He seriously liked me all along?_ He felt like a total idiot for not realizing it sooner. But at least he was a happy idiot.

"Alright, that's the best I can do for now." Kurt kissed the injury lightly and came around to his other side to help him to his feet. "We'd better get back to camp and get you into something warm before you get hypothermia...Until then, put this on." Careful of Blaine's shoulder, he slipped his dry jacket over Blaine's bare torso. He nodded stupidly. Kurt chuckled at his dazed expression. _I'll take that as a good sign..._Grabbing the discarded shirt from the ground, he hooked his elbow through Blaine's and started off back towards the campsite, making sure to steer clear of the cliff's edge.

Despite the throbbing in his arm and the goosebumps all over his body, Blaine did not stop grinning the entire way back.

…

**AT LAST! Grilled Cheezus, it took them long enough...Honestly I didn't mean to drag it on that long. How will Ethan react? DUN DUN DUN!**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	11. Chapter 11: Fight for Kurt

**I want to thank you all SO MUCH for the great response to the last chapter...Everybody loves a Kliss, after all ;D Seriously, I couldn't stop grinning! I looked totally insane, too, because I was curled up in bed staring at my laptop and snickering. But anywho, this chapter isn't going to be quite as...erm...****_fluffy_****. Not that I don't love me some Klaine-fluff! Hahaha but there's gonna be some serious seriousness. Seriously. Enjoy!**

…

When they made it back to camp, the Warblers flew into a panic. They took in their sopping apparel and hair, Blaine's torn pant leg, the scarf peaking out from underneath Kurt's jacket, and, most baffling, the identical grins on their faces. Questions bombarded them from all sides. What had happened to Blaine's arm? Why was he wearing Kurt's jacket? Why were they dripping wet? What took them so long? _What was going on?_

"Blaine!" Wes and David ran up. "Talk to us! We were starting to get worried when you two weren't back for dinner, and now you're returning looking like you just survived a naval battle! What-?"

"Relax, guys, I'm fine," he assured offhandedly. In truth, he felt over the moon. He was still on a Kurt-high. The only thing he could think about was how wonderful those lips had felt against his own. "I fell off the cliff and scraped my shoulder a bit. It's no big deal. Really!" He then gave them a stern look, warning them not to bring up the fact that he couldn't swim, and they knew better than to broach that topic in public. Kurt led Blaine through the swarm of boys to tent number six, very careful of the injured shoulder in the process.

As he unzipped the door, he addressed Wes. "Hey, could you get me the first aid kit?"

"Yeah, of course..." He hurried off.

"Blaine, you sure you're alright?" sweet little Marcus inquired.

He laughed. "Yes! I promise...It's just a little scrape. No biggy. We'll be out in a second."

Reassured, the Warblers moved back to the campfire logs, where their dinners sat half-eaten. Wes returned quickly with the first aid kit. Kurt took it with a grateful smile and ushered Blaine into the tent, closing the flap behind them and leaving Wes and David to smirk at each other, bemused. They had a fairly good idea what it was those two were not telling them. But they would wait for explicit confirmation just to be safe.

Inside the tent, Kurt sighed heavily and settled down next to Blaine on his sleeping bag. Blaine took advantage of this proximity to lean forward and capture his lips in another kiss. It was much more passionate that before. Hungrier. They needed each other in the same way they needed air. Their bodies pressed as close as humanly possible, fingers entwining in hair and tongues dancing around one another. Blaine had never felt more complete in his entire life. Kurt was that missing part of him he'd never known he'd been lacking.

"Come on," Kurt murmured against his neck, forcing himself to pull away. He'd somehow ended up practically in Blaine's lap. Not that the older Warbler seemed to mind. Kurt disentangled himself and reached for the first aid kit. "I need to clean up that scrape before it gets infected or something...I don't trust that lake water."

Blaine chuckled. His injury had not even entered his mind the entire time they'd been making out, but the second Kurt moved away from him, the uncomfortable tingling returned. It was as though Kurt's mere presence was enough to cure him. He stripped off the jacket and sat obediently still as the scarf was untied by long, spindly fingers.

"I don't think I'll be wearing this one again," Kurt teased, laying the wrinkled, slightly-blood-stained piece of fabric in the corner of the tent to dry.

"Sorry," Blaine mumbled. "I know how much you love your scarves..."

Kurt shook his head and planted butterfly kisses on his lips, his nose, his forehead. "Don't be, Blaine...It's not your fault. I have plenty of scarves. In fact, that was probably the scarf I was _least_ partial to."

Blaine did not flinch when Kurt cleaned his shoulder with cotton balls and alcohol, nor when he wrapped it firmly in gauze and ace bandage. But Kurt was still careful with him, moving with deliberate care and attention. Blaine found it extraordinarily sweet of him. He did wonder, though, where Kurt had learned to be so good with bandages. He made a mental note to ask him later. For the moment, he was content with watching the younger boy work, fingers flying expertly, eyes intent, brows furrowed ever so slightly.

"How are you feeling?" Kurt asked when he'd finished, leaning back on the balls of his feet to examine his handiwork.

Blaine chortled. "I got a scrape, dear, not a fatal bullet wound. Stop worrying. I'll be fine in a day or two."

Kurt pouted. "What, can't I fret over my boyfriend?"

This left Blaine temporarily speechless. It was the first time either of them had used the big-B word. It had been assumed, of course, that after their kiss they would be together, but they had not actually talked about it the entire way back to camp. The thought of Kurt, as his _boyfriend_, gave him the almost irresistible urge to squeal. He held it in, though; nothing was more undapper than squealing.

All he could do was pull Kurt close, bury his face in his neck, and whisper, "Of course you can. You can do whatever you'd like, love..." Kurt grinned. But then his stomach growled quite loudly, and they both burst into laughter. Blaine got to his feet, helping Kurt up as he went. "Let's get some food in you, shall we?"

"I think you might need a shirt, though..." Kurt advised cheekily. "I mean, _I _certainly don't mind you walking around half-naked, but I feel like that might draw unnecessary attention..."

Blaine laughed, but agreed. Kurt helped him into a beige turtleneck and black blazer that was far too concealing for Kurt's taste. Then again, after seeing him shirtless, even a simple undershirt would be too concealing for his taste. Not that he'd ever say that, of course. "Don't you want to change into something drier?" Blaine suggested, noting Kurt's still-damp shirt and pants.

The brunette looked down at himself. "Oh...Good idea, yeah." He glanced up at Blaine. "Turn around."

"What?"

"Turn around! Or else go outside."

Blaine smirked playfully. He loved how shy Kurt was. Reluctantly, he turned to face the opposite corner of the tent. He didn't want to rush anything. But that didn't mean he didn't have a hard time keeping his eyes from wandering too far over his shoulder.

"Alright, I'm set," Kurt announced. Blaine turned back. He was now dressed in a fresh pair of jeans, a black collared shirt that hugged him nicely, and a translucent green sweater that looked like it was made out of clouds and cotton candy. He couldn't resist; he strode over to him and engulfed him in a bear hug.

_Yup. Definitely clouds._

Kurt laughed, but hugged him back. "I think you should probably change your own pants, too, Blaine...They're getting water everywhere."

"Huh?" He looked down. Sure enough, a small puddle had formed where he'd been waiting. "Oh, oops!"

Kurt smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'll be outside. Don't take too long..." He exited the tent, leaving Blaine to change. He did so at lightening speed, eager to rejoin his boyfriend – the thought still gave him happy little butterflies in his heart – and go to dinner. As he was slipping on dry socks, however, he heard an unwelcome voice from just outside the tent.

"Hey, Kurt!"

"Oh...Hi, Ethan."

"Look, I need to talk to you about something..."

Blaine shoved his shoes onto his feet and all but ripped the flap open. Kurt jumped at his sudden appearance, then visibly relaxed when the curly-haired boy wrapped an arm around his waist. Blaine raised a challenging eyebrow at Ethan. He had Kurt at last. He wasn't about to let him go.

"Um, yeah, sure. What's up?"

The taller Warbler glared at Blaine with such ferocity that Kurt tensed up, worried he was about to whip out a knife on them. Well, not _them_...on Blaine.

"I'd rather talk to you in private, actually," Ethan managed through clenched teeth.

Blaine was about to retort, but Kurt beat him to it, much calmer in demeanor. His voice was level, yet firm. He did not want a fight to break out. "Is something wrong? I can't think of anything you'd want to talk about that Blaine shouldn't be allowed to hear...Unless you're planning a surprise birthday party for him. Which probably isn't the case, because his birthday isn't for three months."

There was a tick in Ethan's jaw now that scared Kurt a little and put Blaine on edge. He spoke only to the countertenor now, voice dangerously low, strained. "You...You've chosen _him_? That _bastard_? He doesn't deserve you!"

Kurt frowned. Blaine moved forward, but Kurt placed a restraining hand on his chest, and when he spoke, it was in a carefully even tone. "I think I'll be the one to decide that, Ethan. Please don't be mad, it's nothing against you-"

"It's _everything_ against me!" he exploded. Before either of them knew what was happening, the blond flew towards Blaine, knocking him flat on his back. He cried out; the contact between ground and shoulder sent a shockwave of pain through his arm. Ethan's fist came sailing out of nowhere. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the collision with his cheekbone.

But it never came.

"_Stop it!_" Kurt shouted. He clung desperately to Ethan's upper arm, tugging him backwards from Blaine. "Stop it, Ethan, don't do this!"

"Let go!" Ethan bellowed. He jerked his arm back blindly. His elbow smashed into Kurt's hip, sending him tumbling. Blaine's eyes widened in horror at the sight of Kurt collapsing to the ground and curling into the fetal position, clutching his side.

Automatically, he dropped all pretense of restrained dapperness. Ethan could hit him all he wanted. He could yell and scream and throw a tantrum. He could give him a black eye or a bloody lip. None of that would phase him.

But he could _not_ hurt Blaine's boyfriend without severe consequences.

Ethan glanced over at the brunette, seemingly stunned at what he'd just done, and Blaine took the distraction as an opportunity. He shoved him off forcefully, before getting to his feet and letting a clean one fly. His fist sunk into Ethan's cheek. It was the first time he'd ever thrown a punch on a human, and it felt _good_. The blond's head whipped around from the impact and he stumbled a little, swearing.

"HEY!"

The Warblers came running. They'd had front row seats to the whole ordeal, and must have been too paralyzed with shock to move up until then. Jeff and David each grabbed one of Ethan's arms, while Wes placed himself in front of Blaine. Marcus and Trent went to help Kurt to his feet.

"What the hell's going on here?" Wes demanded.

Neither Blaine nor Ethan spoke. They continued to mentally murder each other with their eyes. The Asian-American member of the Council looked between the two of them, before realizing the lost cause and focusing on Kurt. The fashionista moved to Blaine's side, a hand still on his hip.

"They-...They got in a fight," he muttered unnecessarily. "It got a little out of hand."

"Well I'll say!" David interjected. He shook Ethan's shoulder a little. "Come _on_, guys, you know better than that! A fist fight? _Really_? I don't know what's gotten into you, but you'd better do something about it before you're kicked out of Warblers." The similar looks of horror on each of their faces assured him that the threat had been heard, loud and clear. "So put your big boy pants on and learn how to deal with this in the civilized grace of a true Dalton student."

Wes, David, and Thad all ushered the boys back to the campfire. They went semi-unwillingly, most of them eager to know what had been the cause of such a rare outburst. Blaine and Ethan remained where they stood, breathing heavily, burning holes in the ground with their glares. Kurt spoke up softly.

"Ethan...I didn't-"

"Don't." The blond looked up at Kurt, and he saw the regret, the _pain_ in his eyes. Kurt sympathized with him, just a little. He could only imagine what it must have felt like for Ethan, to be on the verge of confessing only to find out that the feelings weren't reciprocated; what's more, that the feelings were directed towards someone else, someone else who returned them. It must have been heart-wrenching. The closest he'd ever come to something like that had been back in February when Blaine had thought he was in love with Jeremiah. If that had hurt so badly, Kurt could only imagine what Ethan was going through. "Just...Just don't, Kurt."

"I-..." But he stopped himself. He did not want to anger Ethan further.

With a final, longing glance at Kurt, Ethan turned on his heel and strode off towards the woods. Kurt wanted to run after him and apologize. But his legs would not move. Instead, he turned to Blaine, who looked like he was thinking the same thing. The older Warbler smiled weakly.

"I feel bad..." he confessed. "But...I don't want to. Because I don't regret being with you."

"No, me neither," Kurt agreed quickly. "But I feel like I should talk to him, anyway..."

"Somehow I don't think 'Sorry I broke your heart' works so well in reality," Blaine tried for some light humor. It worked; Kurt chuckled. He took the brunette's hand in his own and turned towards the campfire, where their fellow Warblers were finishing up their supper. "We'll both talk to him when he cools down. For now, let's grab some food. Alright?"

"Alright." Kurt nodded.

"How's your hip, by the way?"

Kurt shrugged. "It'll heal. Probably just a bruise...You didn't think you'd be the only one to get injured during this trip, did you?" He smirked and nudged Blaine's good shoulder, making him laugh. When they settled next to each other on the logs and were given their dinner, there was no mention of what had just gone down. And nobody asked where Ethan had gone off to.

…

**Only a couple chapters left! Coming up: more Ethan, more talking, more Klisses, more revealed history, and more water XD**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	12. Chapter 12: The Talk

**Last chapter was intense, no? This one will have much less violence, much more talk. Enjoy!**

…

After dinner, Blaine was stolen away by Wes and David, the devious two throwing none-too-subtle glances over at Kurt every other second. Kurt was pretty sure he knew what it was they were confronting Blaine about. He took this opportunity to wander down to the lake shore. After the action-packed afternoon he'd just had, he was more than ready for some peaceful, quiet time to himself.

He sank down, not minding that he was getting sand on the seat of his pants. With everything that had just gone down, it was the least of his concerns. He took in a deep, calming breath, and let it out slowly. The small waves rolled towards him gently, over and over, never quite reaching him. The memory of its frigid depths was still fresh in his mind. He shivered and wrapped his arms around his knees. The mountains in the horizon were disappearing under thick, ominous gray clouds. The sun was gone, leaving nothing but a light patch in the sky as it struggled to break through the melancholic blanket up above. The breeze coming off the water was nippy, but refreshing. It played with his hair. He ran a finger through his locks, unused to letting them fall freely, hoping it did not look too bad.

He did not know how long he sat there on the shore; it could have been ten minutes, it could have been an hour. His mind wandered from Blaine's accident, to how his father would react when he told him Blaine was his boyfriend, to places he wanted to go with him and things he wanted to do, to what he was going to say to Ethan. The lighter patch of gray in the sky that indicated the hidden sun was kissing the mountaintops by the time footfalls shook him from his revere.

Ethan lowered himself onto the sand next to him. They did not speak at first; their eyes remained on the beautiful scenery, arms wrapped about their knees.

"Hey," was all he said.

Kurt chuckled at the simplicity of the greeting. "Hey, yourself."

There was another long pause. Kurt was in no rush. He was willing to let Ethan take his time. The blond sighed. "Look, Kurt...I feel like a total jackass..."

"Don't worry, you still look human to me," he assured. The joke worked. It lightened the atmosphere between them considerably.

"Glad to hear it," Ethan chuckled. They he grew serious once again. "But really, Kurt...I'm _so_ sorry. I did _not_ handle that smoothly. I- I don't know what came over me. I swear, didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Did you _mean_ to hurt Blaine, though?"

Kurt could forgive him for bruising his hip. But it would be harder to let go of the anger he'd felt at the sight of Ethan knocking Blaine to the ground. He could still hear the cry of pain.

Ethan hesitated. That, in itself, was his answer.

"Kurt..." There was a desperate, pleading undertone in his voice. "Please, you have to understand...I really, _really_ like you. I've never felt this way about anyone else before. I honestly thought I had a shot with you...I guess I just sort of ignored the obvious signs that you liked Blaine...I didn't _want_ to see them..."

There were footsteps behind them. They turned to see Blaine approaching them. He smiled warmly at Kurt, then inclined his head at Ethan. He hesitated a few feet away from the pair, a silent question in his eyes. He was clearly willing to leave and let them talk alone for a while. Kurt glanced at Ethan.

"Come join us," the blond invited. Blaine nodded and lowered himself on the other side of Kurt. "I-...I'm really sorry about...well, you know."

Blaine laughed. "I'll live. How's your face?"

Ethan's fingers flew to his cheek. Kurt could tell there would definitely be a mark in the morning. "Fine. You can really throw a punch, though."

This made Blaine smirk – he'd never thrown a punch before in his life until then. Not on someone else, anyway; punching bags didn't count. But then his smile faded. "Remember last year? When you thought you loved me?"

Kurt's lips parted in shock. He had not known that. He would never have guessed it, either, considering how edgy they'd been with each other the entire trip. But from Ethan's nostalgic nod, he knew it was true. He tried to picture Ethan and Blaine together, drinking coffee and shopping and watching movies and- _Stop it, Kurt! Blaine chose you!_

"I remember," Ethan agreed. "That was...an awkward time for everyone. But it wasn't as bad as this."

"No, definitely not," Blaine agreed.

"Wait, wait, _what_?" Kurt pressed, head flying back and forth between them.

Ethan explained. "Last year, when Blaine transferred to Dalton in the fall, I had a huge crush on him. I'd just gotten out of a pretty intense relationship. Blaine was everything my ex wasn't...I- I was obsessed. I'll admit it."

"He switched into all my classes," Blaine took up the story, sounding a little bitter at the memory. "He would bring me coffee every morning before class and agree with everything I said during Warbler practice. And he didn't let up for a whole year."

"I _liked_ you!" Ethan snapped. Kurt could feel the tension rising once more, and he did not like being in the crossfire. "You could have just _told_ me outright you didn't like me back from the very beginning! You didn't have to-"

"What did you want me to say?" Blaine bit back. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings!"

Ethan scoffed. "Well, clearly _that_ worked out nicely!"

"What are you talking about?" Kurt finally demanded, hoping to cool the heated emotions. He looked to Blaine. He clenched his jaw, still glaring at Ethan, and did not answer. So he turned to Ethan. He heaved a great sigh, looking equally unhappy.

"The day after I confessed to him, he serenaded another guy. Right in front of me. A _stranger_, no less! And all I could do was stand there in the background and continue on with the performance...act like it didn't matter..."

Kurt got a suspiciously uneasy feeling about this. "Wh-Who was it?"

But Ethan shook his head and dropped his gaze to his knees. Kurt appealed to Blaine instead. The raven-haired singer met his eyes guiltily, almost apologetically.

"You, Kurt."

His jaw dropped. Ethan said nothing; he was fuming silently. His shoe nudged a pebble out of place and rolled it down the sand towards the water. All three of them watched it roll, roll, then disappear beneath a crashing wave. Gone. Forgotten.

"I thought you said you were friends up until a few days ago," Kurt murmured, speaking to Blaine but keeping his eyes on the lake.

"I-...That might have been a bit of a white lie," he confessed.

Ethan spoke up again. "Well, we weren't _friends_, maybe, but we didn't hate each other," he conceded. "After-...After the Teenage Dream Fiasco, I stopped talking to Blaine altogether. I avoided him. And over time we just sort of fell into an 'acquaintance' relationship..." He shrugged, trying to look like it didn't bother him anymore. But Kurt could tell he still regretted how it had all gone down. He felt even guiltier about not returning his affections now.

"I'm so sorry you've had to go through all this..."

Ethan snorted and bumped his shoulder playfully with the countertenor's. "You shouldn't apologize for things you can't help, Kurt. Just-...Just be happy. With Blaine. Okay? And that'll be enough for me. Because this great guy once told me that that's what true friends do..." He leaned forwards and caught Blaine's eye. Kurt turned to his boyfriend, confused by the knowing smile on his lips, but he decided to let it go. They could have their own private understanding. He was just glad they were being civil with each other again. "But Blaine," Ethan added grimly, "you'd better treat Kurt right. If you screw up, don't expect me not to be there to steal him away!"

He winked to show he was joking, but Kurt still gaped at him. Blaine laughed loudly and drew him close, placing a kiss on his raised eyebrows. "Don't you worry, Johnson, I have no intention of letting him go."

"Wow guys, talk about me as if I'm not here, why don't you?" His sarcasm initiated another round of chuckles, which was cut off when Kurt suddenly looked up at the sky and held out a hand, palm up. "I think it's raining..."

Blaine gazed out over the lake. Sure enough, he could see raindrops rippling the surface. The gray clouds were finally opening up. It was time to take shelter.

"Guys!" They turned to see little Marcus waving at them from the edge of camp. "You'd better get in your tents unless you want to go swimming on land!"

"I've had quite enough swimming, thanks," Blaine muttered, getting to his feet. Kurt stifles his giggles behind his hand and allowed him to help him to his feet. Blaine wrapped his good arm around his waist and led him back towards camp, careful of the bruised hip. Ethan followed, waving goodbye when he reached his own tent.

Inside was not much warmer than outside. But at least it was dry. Kurt shivered as Blaine zipped the door closed.

"Come on, let's get in our sleeping bags," Blaine suggested.

"But you're so much warmer than a sleeping bag!" he protested, pressing himself against the older boy, arms locked around his neck. Blaine held him close, smiling into his hair, loving the way Kurt fit so perfectly into his embrace. They ended up unzipping their sleeping bags and re-zipping them as one, slipping in together. Their bodies were in contact from head to toe. Blaine had an arm slung around Kurt's waist, the other functioning as a pillow for Kurt's head. The brunette was snuggled into Blaine's neck, eyelashes tickling his adam's apple, numbed fingers splayed across his chest. They both sighed contentedly, enjoying the moment for what it was – a reminder that they were truly together at last. Kurt had never felt more at home than there in that cocoon of synthetic, in the arms of his love, listening to the rain falling on their tent and breathing in that heavenly scent that was so distinctly _Blaine_.

"How are you feeling?" the curly-haired Warbler whispered, fingers tracing indistinguishable designs on his back.

Kurt moaned happily against his throat, kissing the tender skin sleepily. "_Warm_...wonderfully warm..."

It was official. Kurt loved camping.

…

**And now you know Ethan and Blaine's history! Poor Ethan :( His love life just sorta sucks, doesn't it? Like I said, this chapter was much more talking, less action...Hope you enjoyed, anyway! :) NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST! Sad face.**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


	13. Chapter 13: Let's Go Home END

**LAST CHAPTER! *tear* I've had such a wonderful time writing this fic. Your reviews have made me SO happy, and remind me on a daily basis why I love writing. I appreciate every single one of you, from the enthusiastic reviewers to the silent alerters and favoriters. I'd like to make a quick shout-out to The Other, who's reviewed practically every chapter! You always make me smile :) Same goes to Supermegafoxyawesomehot7 and mcrgirl2500 and Krustel and ****ChroniclesofNarniaGoTandSJA****. You guys rock!**

…

Kurt awoke to the soothing sound of rain on the tent's protective outer layer. It was a constant pitter-patter, not exactly pouring, but definitely stronger than a drizzle. His first instinct was to groan and snuggle deeper into his down pillow and duvet. Then he realized that his pillow was Blaine's arm and his duvet was a giant sleeping bag.

He had to lay there for a moment and just absorb it all. The cliff incident, their first kiss, the fight, the talk on the shore. It all rushed back to him. He opened his eyes, glad that there was no blinding sun shining in. It was a dim gray light, just bright enough for Kurt to make out his surroundings. Blaine was still fast asleep, snoring lightly. Kurt had to resist kissing his slightly parted lips, not wanting to wake him up, and instead reached out slowly to grab his comb from his bag. His arm was hit with a wave of cold, and he drew back quickly. The warmth Blaine was emitting was like a protective shield, keeping the sleeping bag distinctly hotter than the frigid, rainy morning air. Nevertheless, Kurt did not want Blaine to awake to his awful bed-head two days in a row, so, with a deep breath, he shot out a hand and snatched up the comb. Blaine mumbled in his sleep. Kurt paused, worried, but his boyfriend simply readjusted his head and continued to dream.

Just as Kurt had finished fixing up his hair as best he could without any product, he heard Blaine wake with a sharp intake a breath. He glanced down at the older teen, whose hair was a curly untamable mess, and smiled.

"Morning." The guitarist's voice was rough from sleep.

"How's your shoulder feeling?" Kurt asked. He allowed himself to be pulled back into Blaine's embrace, grinning uncontrollably at the butterfly kisses being brushed over his face.

"Sore," he confessed. "Sort of like I fell off a cliff or something? I know, weird, right?"

Kurt laughed. It must not have been hurting him too badly, then. "Come on, let me redo the bandages."

"But I'm so comfortable!" he pouted, not released his hold on the countertenor.

"Blaine, dear, we're leaving today, remember?" he reminded, brushing his curls away from his hazel eyes with a gentle finger. "We can't stay here forever, as much as we might like to..."

Blaine sighed dramatically but allowed Kurt to pull him into a sitting position and remove his top. Goosebumps erupted over his exposed chest. Kurt did not help this condition by tracing his icy fingertips over his abs. He gasped a little; Kurt snickered. He brought out the first aid kit from the corner of the tent and set to work readdressing his shoulder. There was a bit of dried blood on the gauze, but nothing worrisome. The scrape was already beginning to scab up. He rewrapped it with fresh bandages, though, just to be safe.

"When did you become so good at that?" Blaine asked.

"At what?"

"At taking care of injuries," he clarified, watching his boyfriend in interest as he repackaged the first aid kit. The brunette's movements slowed at the question. Blaine could see his eyes turn distant, remembering something.

"I- Oh, you know, just from practice," he shrugged carefully. "I didn't want my dad to know when I got hurt, so I usually had to treat it myself. In the middle school, when the bullying began, I became pretty good at it."

Blaine frowned. He did not like the thought of Kurt being hurt from such a young age. It angered him. He was overcome with a protective instinct, causing him to wrap his arms around Kurt's waist and draw him closer once more. Kurt laughed lightly; he knew what had caused this sign of affection.

"Don't worry, Blaine," he assured, kissing him briefly, "it's in the past. And besides, it came in handy this weekend, didn't it?"

He nodded silently. "But it's not the end..." The truth of this killed him. "We're _gay_, Kurt. There's always going to be somebody who doesn't approve of who we are, who'll want to hurt us..."

Kurt hugged him tightly, mouth close to his ear so he could whisper, "Then it's a good thing I have such a wonderful boyfriend who'll always be there when those homophobes come by, isn't it?"

Blaine chuckled. Yes. He _would_ be there. He would protect Kurt with his life. At that moment, he felt like they could take on the world.

Together.

…

Ethan emerged from his tent at the same time they did. There was a long pause, in which none of them spoke, none of them moved, none of them even seemed to breathe. How were they supposed to act? After everything that had gone down the day previous, there was really no easy way to interact with one another. No matter what, it was going to be uncomfortable.

Finally, Ethan broke the silence. "Hi."

"Hey," Kurt returned, smiling hesitantly.

"Morning," Blaine put in with a polite nod.

Ethan stared at them morosely for a moment longer, and there was something in his gaze that reassured Kurt. He had come to terms with their relationship. He had accepted that Kurt was Blaine's. And perhaps he had not quite moved on yet, but at least he was willing to now. That was all Kurt could ask for.

Blaine must have noticed this, too, because he shocked Kurt by inviting, "Eat breakfast with us?"

Ethan was equally taken aback. But then his face broke into that blinding white smile Kurt found he'd almost missed. "Of course!" He joined them as they headed for the campfire, where a couple other Warblers were already seated, rubbing their hands together to try and warm their freezing fingers. The rain had faded to a misting drizzle, not enough to keep them in their tents, but noticeably damp. Kurt mourned what it must have been doing to his hair.

"I can't believe we're going back," Ethan opined thoughtfully.

"Same," Kurt admitted. "This weekend went by so fast..."

"And so much happened," Blaine agreed. He handed a cup of instant coffee to Kurt, who took it gratefully and brought it close to his face to let the steam heat his cold nose. "It'll be so weird going back to classes and homework and Warbler practice..."

"But I really can't wait to get to proper toilets," Kurt muttered. "Where there's no _raccoons_ around." Both Blaine and Ethan laughed – Ethan, a bit confused – at the bitterness in his voice. "I mean, nature's pretty and all, but it simply doesn't cut it as a bathroom. It's totally unsanitary, and all the _animals_-"

"You know, Homo sapiens did their business in the wilderness for millions of years," Ethan pointed out, amused.

"Do I _look_ like a caveman to you?" he snapped. They snorted and tried to hide their mirth in their mugs. "Well, I must admit, though, it's been pretty nice...It could have been much worse."

"Really?" Blaine looked quite excited at that. "And here I thought you _hated_ camping..."

"I do!" he promised quickly. "But...it's really beautiful here, and it was a nice break from school work."

Blaine smirked. "Does this mean I can take you camping this summer?"

Kurt blanched. "Don't even _think_ about it, Blaine Anderson!"

They chuckled at the expected reaction. Blaine knew he would not be able to convince him to do this any more than was absolutely necessary. He did not mind. He much more enjoyed seeing Kurt somewhere he felt comfortable and at home. He immediately began making a mental list of places Kurt might like to go. There were so many things he wanted to show him, to do with him. And they had all the time in the world for him to do so.

"You'll come next year, though, right?" Ethan pressed.

Kurt kept silent at that, pointedly ignoring the question and sipping at his coffee. But they both knew that was a 'yes.' He might have despised the lack of plumping and electricity, but he was no spoilsport. If it was a Warbler tradition, then he would endure. That was just the kind of guy he was.

"Oh, Kurt...How's your hip?" Ethan asked.

Blaine's stomach dropped. _Oh my god, how did I forget that? Some boyfriend _I'm_ being..._

"Hmm?" Kurt looked up. From his expression, he'd forgotten about it as well. His hand wandered to the hip in question, pressing it gently. Then, in an innocent move that nonetheless had Blaine's heart racing, he pulled down the waistband of his jeans just enough to expose the hipbone. Blaine had to fill his thoughts with things distinctly unsexy to keep from getting turned on too much. Luckily, the sight of Kurt's minor injury fulfilled that purpose. Not that it was lucky Kurt got hurt – quite the opposite! The bruise was the size of an egg, already beginning to fade from purple to yellowish-green. "Oh, it's fine..."

Ethan frowned at the sight. "I'm so sorry, Kurt, I didn't-"

"Hey! Stop. It's all in the past," Kurt interrupted firmly. "Although, I must admit, you've really got a sharp elbow there..."

The blond flushed and covered the offensive body part as if hoping to keep it from causing any more harm. The conversation went from there onto lighter topics, such as the lying weather reports and what they predicted they would have to do for make-up work in their classes. Kurt smiled to himself. After everything that went down, he was glad they could all get along again and put it behind them. It was nice not having to worry about who liked who and who was on the verge of throwing a punch.

…

The Warblers packed up that morning in the gray light offered from the mostly-hidden sunrise. The gentle rain continued to fall, never heavy enough to bring out raincoats, but covering everything in a thin layer of dew. Just as they were leaving, a little after midday, the sky broke to allow a ray of sunlight through onto the lake, making it sparkle. It was a scene straight out of a fairytale.

Kurt came up to Blaine and took his arm, breathing eagerly into his ear. "Blaine, look, look!"

Blaine's eyes followed to where he was pointing. There was a faint rainbow in the sky over the treetops. He smiled. Kurt's enthusiasm about this finding was absolutely adorable. He kissed him, not caring who saw. "It's beautiful."

Kurt beamed. "It really is..."

They stared into each other's eyes for an immeasurable amount of time, rainbow completely forgotten, until Wes came by and oh-so-casually walked between them. "Let's get a move on, you lovebirds! If you just stand there we'll leave without you!"

"No you wouldn't," Blaine chuckled. But nevertheless he grabbed Kurt's hand and moved to pick up his bag.

"No, please, let me!" Kurt rushed. "I don't want you to strain your shoulder..."

He laughed. "Relax, Kurt, I'm fine! It's already scabbing, remember? I think I can handle a couple tents."

Kurt frowned. In the end they compromised – Blaine took the tents, but Kurt carried his duffle for him. When everything and everyone was loaded into the bus, Kurt gave one last look back towards the campsite. So much had happened in the span of three short days...There had been flirting, yelling, singing, bleeding, swimming, and kissing. Kurt had learned about Ethan and Blaine's past, saved Blaine from drowning, nearly gotten attacked by a huge raccoon, and finally got together with the boy he liked and might even possibly loved. He survived all weekend in nature and didn't regret going one bit. He never could have prepared himself for everything that had happened. Wes had been right; it _had_ been the 'Weekend to be Remembered.'

Blaine slid an arm around him as the limo-bus took off down the dirt road, weaving through the woods, and planted a gentle kiss on his neck.

"Let's go home..."

…

**FINN. (Glee pun ftw)**

**Wait, it's over? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?**

**Well, since you've all been ****_so amazing_**** with your reviews and faves and alerts...****THERE SHALL BE A SEQUEL.**

***happy flail***

**And it is entirely thanks to my reviewers :D The idea came to me when I was reading the latest reviews this morning and tearing up at how kind and supportive and encouraging everyone was. I was just as sad as you were that it was ending, when all of a sudden an idea for a sequel hit me! And I was like HALLELUJAH, PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO CRY ABOUT IT BEING OVER! XD lol jk, I know nobody would cry. But you get the point.**

**It's called **"_Washing Away_."** You can find it by going to my profile, or just searching for it. :) Thanks again, everyone! Now go continue the adventure ;)**

**P.S. The lovely Anju has translated this fic into Japanese, for those of you that are interested! :D You can find it here: x99 . peps . jp / gleek / ?guid=on&cn=6 (take out the spaces)**

**Kisses,**

**~Ripple**


End file.
